so as i was writing this i decided that the chapter i had planned after this was just gonna be irrelevant bc i changed some things plotwise so it ended up being useless. hope nobody minds and you guys still enjoy this last chapter! sorry again for the long wait, i'm on vacation now so i've been spending more time with my family :)
It was impossibly hot in the station wagon, partially due to it being August, but also partially because El Hopper was so ridiculously in love that it was almost impossible to keep her hands off of her boyfriend. She'd started it but now she was the one leaning back, letting his mouth trace its usual path down her neck. It kind of tickled, but she also really liked it. It was something fairly new and it made her feel like she was going to combust at any second.
"Mike," she said breathily, trying to find purchase in his hair so she could drag his face back up to hers, "Come back."
El felt his smile against her skin and the heat rising in her because of it. "I think I'll stay here," he responded cheekily, nipping at her throat before suckling on the bit where her neck met her collarbone.
"You're like a fucking vampire," she groaned, but she tilted her head back against the front seat anyway. She was certain in that moment that she would never be able to get enough of him. "I swear to god, if you leave me a hickey I will murder you."
He stopped. "Will you?" He murmured, nosing his way up to lightly bite her earlobe. "I don't think you will," he added, before grinning and leaning in to capture her lips.
And God, was it ever something. His hands burned her where he'd put them when her shirt rode up, gripping her hips like she was going to disappear if he didn't, and his lips were soft but insistent; just the combination of things to make El feel like she was going to burst out of her skin. IlovehimIlovehimIlovehim-
Eventually, she had to pull back when her mouth started to feel like rubber. Her lips were probably so puffed up she looked like a toad, but Mike didn't appear to want her any less because of it. In fact, he ran a hand through her mussed up hair and tugged her face back closer to his as if he was going to kiss her again, but then just nuzzled into her cheek.
"I literally can't believe how beautiful you are," he whispered, eyes glittering.
"My heart feels like it's trying to run away," she giggled.
Mike brought her hand up to his chest, where she could feel his heartbeat going just as fast as hers. "It's always like that when I'm with you."
"Always?"
He chuckled. "Well, I have a flair for exaggeration, but. Mostly."
El lay her head over it, resting against him. "You wanna go out Thursday night? Ally asked if she could take my shift and I don't think you're working…"
He smiled and pressed another kiss to the top of her head. "Benny's and the meadow after?"
"You know it."
El went to bed that night almost sighing with the overwhelming joy she felt constantly these days. Loving Mike was the easiest thing in the world, now all she had to do was tell him that she did!
A feat that was proving harder than it should have. Oops.
She fell asleep imagining that she'd tell him Thursday night at the meadow. It was a place they'd discovered on a walk through the woods and really it wasn't even a meadow, just a small area with no trees where tons of flowers sprung up. It was peaceful and the two of them had never encountered anyone else there, although they were sure the spot wasn't exclusive. She'd be lying with her head on his lap while he played with her hair and she would just look up at him and say it.
I'm in love with you.
Yes. That was how she'd do it.
But, as her luck would have it, she got a call Wednesday night while she was hanging out with Max in her room. Max was in the middle of explaining something Dustin had said to her when the phone rang.
El rolled her eyes and started getting up. "I'll just be a minute."
"Not if it's loverboy you won't!" The redhead laughed as El ran out of the room.
"Hello?" She answered.
A sigh came over the line. "Hey, El." Mike sounded disappointed.
Her eyes dropped and so did her spirits. "What's up?"
"I have to cancel. I'm sorry."
"Ugh, that sucks! What happened?"
He sighed again. "My parents are going out for the night and won't be back until Friday night, so they're making me watch Holly."
El brightened again. "That's fine! I'll just come over and hang out, too!"
"You're okay with that?" Mike asked dubiously.
She rolled her eyes, knowing he couldn't see her. "Of course I am, Holly's a sweetheart."
"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you then, then?"
Max looked askance at her when she sat back down on her bed. "Who was it?"
El snuggled into her friend's lap. "Mike, but everything's fine. Let's get back to your story."
The redhead only shrugged as if to say if you say so, but she smiled and launched back in.
Thursday afternoon came quickly, although El was a little disheartened that it seemed her plan was to go to waste. She dropped her bike on the grass by the Wheelers' basement door and entered the house calling a hello. No one was in the basement, but she heard a gasp and the patter of small footsteps before the door upstairs was thrown open, stopping her at the foot of the staircase.
"El!" Holly nearly flew down in her excitement, wrapping her arms around El's midsection tightly.
El laughed lightly. "Hi, Holly," she greeted, ruffling the little girl's hair.
Holly pulled away and ran back up, taking El by the hand to drag her along. "Mike's taking a shower but he'll be back soon," she explained, quickly and astutely noticing the older girl's eyes roving around the main floor in search of her boyfriend.
Holly had stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, looking contemplative, so El leaned down to her height to meet her gaze. "What do you wanna do while we wait?"
The small blonde narrowed her eyes and grinned. "We should go scare him."
El wanted to laugh at the devious expression on her face, but decided it would probably be best not to encourage her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Holly only looked at her as if gauging whether El would be a worthy accomplice. "It'll be funny, but we have to be very quiet. He can hear good."
El put on a very serious expression and nodded solemnly, holding a finger to her lips. Holly smiled brightly and started creeping up the staircase, the sound of her feet hidden by the carpet. El followed suit, trying not to break out giggling at the images she was conjuring of Mike's reaction to their stealth mission.
None of them compared to his actual reaction, though: Holly and El were standing on either side of the bathroom door when he opened it so he didn't initially see them, but they jumped out and yelled "BOO" so loudly that he fell backwards onto the floor, nearly dropping the towel wrapped around his waist and letting out an inhuman screech followed by a loud proclamation of, "Oh my god!"
He sat on the floor of the bathroom with his arms crossed and glaring at them as they laughed until they couldn't breathe, and every time El looked back at him she laughed harder.
"You two think you're so funny," he said dryly.
Holly spoke between shrieks. "You- you- you f- fell- you fell!"
The little girl's mirthful expression quickly turned to one of panic as her face kept getting redder and her breaths shorter and wheezier. "Mikey-" she gasped, a hand rising to her chest, and El remembered something as Mike got up and raced past her down the hall to Holly's room.
("Mommy said I could come with you if I want. Please, please, please?"
"Do you have your inhaler?")
Inhaler. Jesus Christ, a kid was having an asthma attack right in front of her and she had no idea what to do. El backed away, figuring that giving Holly space would probably be best, and Mike came barrelling back with a piece of plastic in his hand. He shoved it into his sister's mouth and pressed down on the button at the bottom, spraying medicine down her throat. She clutched the inhaler and gasped and heaved a few more wheezy breaths before she started evening out.
Mike kneeled in front of Holly, keeping a hand on the back of her head as her face drained of colour. "Are you okay?"
Holly nodded, so El took it as an okay to move back into the space and placed a hand on Mike's bare shoulder. He covered it with his free hand, squeezing lightly as they both looked at Holly for any signs of distress, but she seemed to be just about back to normal, if a little scared. She took the inhaler out of her mouth and Mike moved back, standing and letting El's hand drop off his shoulder.
"Water," said Holly.
"Yeah, why don't you go down with El? I'm just gonna get dressed and I'll be right there, okay?"
Mike made his way into his room as the two girls walked back down the stairs they had so stealthily creeped up a few minutes prior in a very different kind of silence.
"Are you sure you're okay?" El made a point of asking, because although Holly seemed to be fine now and still had her inhaler in tow, El thought she might panic if something happened again. She didn't have any experience with kids and it had scared her to see Holly in the state she'd been in without knowing how to help her.
"Yes, just thirsty," Holly responded quietly, entering the kitchen and going straight for the pitcher of water in the fridge. El got a glass down from the cupboard for her and watched silently as the little girl drank.
Holly was leaving the kitchen as Mike came in, dressed now in yet another striped t-shirt and a pair of corduroys. "Hey, I didn't really greet you before," he said, coming over to El and tilting her chin up to give her a quick and chaste kiss.
"It's okay."
His eyes followed Holly into the living room as she sat down and flipped channels on the TV. "God, I hate when that happens to her, but we can't really stop her from laughing, right?"
El shrugged and lay her head against his shoulder. "Not really. I guess you just have to help her."
Mike sighed and glanced back at his girlfriend, taking in her outfit. "Aren't you hot in that?"
El looked down at herself. "I always wear these, what do you mean?"
He scoffed. "Shirt, overall skirt, and leggings? All in black? You need some colour, my love."
Her heart fluttered at his calling her 'my love', but she narrowed her eyes playfully. "So what do you propose to correct this problem you apparently see?"
Mike smirked a little bit, moving away from her in the direction of the living room. "What do you say we have a makeover, Hol?" He called. "It looks like we need an intervention."
It ended up being that an hour and a half later, El was in one of Nancy's old dresses that she'd left behind (a white one with blue stripes and plain white buttons), and Mike had been covered in makeup twice over. First Holly had messed his whole face up putting whatever she liked on him, and then she'd insisted that he go wash it off so that El could do it for him properly. Since neither of them felt like saying no, he went and washed his face and then El did his makeup. She did it the way she usually did hers, lip gloss with eyeshadow rubbed into it, dark eyeliner and smudged black eyeshadow with a little bit of mascara.
"You don't even really need it," she'd told him as she attempted not to poke his eye, "your lashes are so long it should be illegal. Isn't it unfair that boys always have long and pretty eyelashes, Holly?"
Holly had vehemently agreed. The final effect was that Mike could've looked like your regular punk city kid, if only he wore all black and changed his hair up. El kind of liked how he looked, a half-cooked punk, but she knew he would never be the type. It was just as well because she preferred him in his nerdy stripes and corduroys anyhow.
"Ladies, ladies," he crowed after having seen his face in the mirror, "now that I look like a pirate it's time for a movie!"
Holly cheered. "Can we watch The Goonies? It has pirates!"
Mike gave his sister a piggy back ride back downstairs and El followed with a smile. She was imagining a day where she and Mike were older and Holly was a little girl with dark hair, golden eyes, and a toothy grin. She half-hoped it would be true someday.
She also almost fell asleep watching the movie, sitting in the V created by Mike's legs and wrapped in his arms with Holly enjoying herself beside them, but Mike kept her just barely awake with the lazy kisses he was pressing to the side of her neck. El supposed that he was within his right; if he'd been sitting against her the way she was against him she surely would have done the same thing.
After the movie, Mike had washed his face and gotten to making some mac n' cheese and chicken for dinner, leaving Holly and El watching cartoons. Following a few minutes of Jem and the Holograms, El was just about done and decided to join Mike in the kitchen. Holly didn't really care, enraptured as she was by the pink-haired songstress on TV.
"You need any help?" El asked, waltzing into the room and turning on the radio.
Mike was putting a casserole dish with seasoned chicken breasts in it in the oven. "Not really, I can cook macaroni pretty fine, El," he answered after a beat, turning to grab the pasta pot. "But if you wanna stay I won't object."
She did, hoisting herself up onto the counter and swinging her legs. She was enjoying the way the skirt fluttered around her legs. In fact, she kind of liked dresses, she just didn't own many and preferred pants.
Mike started to sing along with the song playing, which surprised El a bit since she didn't know he liked-
"Pink Floyd?" She asked. "You like them?"
He hummed in assent. "I've never seen them, but I wish I could've when they came to Indianapolis last November. My parents don't like their 'look'. My mom hates it whenever she hears me listening to them, so I mostly do on my Walkman now."
El frowned. "That sucks, I think you would've loved it. They were amazing."
"You went?"
"I told you I listen to things other than Ramones and Sex Pistols."
Mike smiled as he poured the pasta into the water-filled pot. "You did," he acknowledged, putting the pot on the stove. Just looking at his smile was making El feel a little lightheaded, and she thought that maybe they didn't need to be on a special date night for her to tell him that she loved him. It wasn't like she only loved him on date nights, in fact she was feeling very in love right at that moment. But it wasn't the right time.
"Sorry I had to cancel our date to babysit," Mike said, interrupting her thoughts on that very subject. "It kinda sucks."
"Nah." El waved her hand. "Any time with you is time well spent, and who says this doesn't count as a date anyway?"
He snorted. "I guess you're right, but in light of the fact that my parents went out tonight to 'reconnect', everything seems a little weak."
El cocked her head. "I'm not sure I get what you mean."
Mike looked into the murky water as he stirred the macaroni, then grabbed a bottle of olive oil out of a cupboard above his head to drizzle in. "Can you pass the salt, it's right behind you."
She passed him the salt and waited for an answer as he dropped some into the pot. He sighed. "I don't know, nothing makes sense in this house anymore. I'm sick of them trying to act like everything's normal when it isn't."
"Maybe it's a last attempt at fixing things?" She offered.
He shook his head sadly. "Maybe."
The only sound either of them heard for the next few minutes was cartoon chatter from the show Holly was watching and the radio softly in the background, Mike continuously stirring the pasta and El swinging her legs aimlessly.
"What do you think love is, El?"
El was startled by the sudden question. She looked at Mike to find him looking intently at her, still stirring the macaroni but waiting for an answer. She balled her hands into fists and relaxed them on the counter beside her before folding them into the sides of the dress.
"I'm not sure how to describe it," she said, gripping the fabric tightly. "It's like… liking someone so much that you never, ever, want them to leave, and you're kinda sad when they do. But all you want is to see them happy, and you would do anything for them to stay that way. It's when you're with someone and you can see yourselves together ten, or twenty, or even more years down the road. True love is forever, but I don't know how many people are lucky enough to find it."
Their eyes were fixed on each other as she spoke, and El wouldn't have been surprised if there was a neon sign above her head flashing THAT'S HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOU!
Mike turned back to the pot and didn't respond for a second. "That makes sense," he finally said. "I don't think my parents have ever been in love."
El swallowed around the lump in her throat and screwed up her courage. "Have you?"
Mike looked back at her, dark eyes boring into hers. She felt like he was peering into her soul and seeing exactly what she meant by that question.
"I have." He didn't take his eyes off of her. "What about you?"
"Yeah," she answered quietly.
He nodded and turned back to the pot, taking a macaroni out to bite it. "It's ready."
El hopped off the counter as Mike bent to check the chicken. "Dinner will be served in about ten minutes, shortstack."
At that she slapped his arm. "Michael!"
He laughed as he stood back up, reaching out to pull her close and plant a kiss on her, his big, expressive eyes shining.
El stepped back and picked up the sides of the dress. "I'm going to change back into my clothes, don't wanna get Nancy's dress dirty."
Ten minutes later, El was changed, the table was set, and the three of them were sitting down to have dinner. El basked in the blissful domesticity of it all, smiling at Mike across the table and asking Holly questions, all the while imagining an evening in the future when the kid she and Mike were talking to was one of their own. It was nice.
El and Mike picked up and cleared the table, Holly heading back to the couch. She was asleep by the time they finished, so Mike carried her upstairs and changed her carefully into her pyjamas so as not to wake her up, El watching as he tucked the little girl in and kissed her forehead before smoothing back her hair and standing up to leave.
Mike shut the door to Holly's room and turned to face El with a wide grin. "Now that we're alone…" He edged down and across the hall to his own bedroom, making a running jump onto his bed. El stood in the doorway trying not to explode from too much happiness. God, he's just so cute!
"Come here," he whined, lifting his head and dropping it back down after a second. El thought he looked kind of pitiful all alone, so she figured she'd join him. She grabbed his hand and linked their fingers and the two of them stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning to each other at the same time. El started to laugh but Mike slid his head over and muffled the sound with his mouth before it could come out.
Her hands went up to cup his face but because of their sideways position it wasn't really working, so El pulled back. Mike frowned.
"What?"
El slid up along the bed and repositioned herself so that she was lying on his pillows as if she were about to go to sleep. "This way is better."
He grinned and crawled up to hover over her, just taking her in before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss again. This time, when her hands went up to his face, they stayed there; thumbs running along his cheekbones. Their mouths opened one after the other in what was now a practiced motion, tongues sliding against each other in the middle. It was always wet, but now that El was used to it she liked it. It was an interesting kind of intimacy, touching someone else's tongue with yours. Kind of weird. But also really hot. Like, really hot.
Mike had been right about her clothes making her too hot. She was the one who pulled away again with a gasp, opening her eyes to a beautiful sight: her boyfriend with flushed cheeks, slick lips, and wide, dark eyes.
"I'm too hot," she gasped. He moved off of her without a word, simply sitting back and letting her get up. El slid her leggings down and off her legs, immediately noticing the difference and becoming instantly more comfortable. She discarded them on the floor and lay back, pulling Mike down with her. She had, unknowingly, made a cradle with her legs, and that was where he ended up being, so El wrapped them around his waist and her arms around his neck to bring his face back to hers.
They had been at it for a few minutes more, the straps on her overalls undone, when she felt the hand that was on her knee start to creep up. Right after, Mike stopped kissing her (unfortunate) to look into her eyes.
"Is this okay?" He asked, squeezing a little. It sent a pleasurable little shiver up her spine.
El groaned, almost in annoyance. "Of course it is, you dork. Do whatever," she answered. "Just don't stop kissing me."
He smiled quickly before heeding her demand. Kissing Mike was probably just about the best thing ever invented, but combined with the sensation of his hot palm sliding up her thigh and squeezing softly every so often it was even better. Good lord, was she ever in love with him…
Things ramped down bit by bit until the two of them were lying side by side again, sharing one pillow and staring at each other silently. The entire moment and everything about it was soft; the house, the room, the air, them. El wanted to stick her face in it like a cotton candy cloud, but she was already there herself. She felt warm and safe, and above all, loved.
"Mike?" He continued to look at her, his features conveying a yes? without words. "Can I tell you something?"
El could feel her heart going a million miles a minute, but she guessed that was part of the magic of love.
"You can tell me anything."
She smiled and watched as Mike's face mirrored hers. She leaned closer, as if she were about to tell him a secret, and rubbed her nose softly against his. "Remember how we were talking about being in love?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm in love with you."
The silence right after she said it was deafening, and El completely understood what people meant when they said that sometimes silence is the loudest sound of all.
Her heart was in her throat, but then Mike's smile widened. "Well, let me tell you something, Miss Hopper."
She nodded expectantly.
"I am in love with you right back."
El almost wanted to laugh. All that worrying she did for absolutely nothing! Max would surely say I told you so!
"God, I worried over telling you so much," she admitted.
"It's not an easy thing to say when you mean it."
She sighed, turning to face the ceiling. "Sometimes when I look at you I feel like I'm going to explode because I love you so much."
Mike chuckled and she giggled. "I feel that just thinking about you. And to think this all started because you stabbed Troy Harrington with a screwdriver and I just happened to be in the office at the same time."
"Fate," said El simply. "I don't think I would've ever had the courage to talk to you, much less tell you I liked you, if we hadn't met and become friends."
"I, for one, still can't believe you had a crush on me."
El scoffed. "Why do you think I haven't let you near my yearbooks?"
"What, did you bookmark every page with a picture of me on it?" Mike asked sarcastically.
She didn't deign him with an answer, but she knew he could see her blushing.
He propped himself up on his elbow. "You did! Oh my god, this is gold."
"Can you stop making fun of the unfortunate beginnings of my feelings, please?" El retorted, turning back on her side to face him again.
"Never, my love! I will remind you until the end of time!"
Her heart fluttered again. "I really like when you call me that."
She smiled and he smiled back. "My love?"
"Yeah."
"I love you. A lot."
El kind of felt like her whole body was blushing. She never wanted it to let up. Which brought her to-
"Do you think we'll last?"
Mike frowned. "As in, our relationship?"
She nodded.
"Well, I can't see the future but I hope we do. I think I'll love you forever and beyond. If I ever tell you I don't love you anymore, take me to the priest for a confession because I'm lying," he answered seriously.
El laughed. "That's dramatic."
Mike threw his hands up. "Not joking!"
"Okay, okay, I'll take you to the priest," she consoled him. "But guess what?"
"What?"
She grinned. "I'm glad Harrington decided to be a bitch that day. Now I have the most beautiful person in my life, and you know what's even better?"
Mike shuffled closer, pressing his forehead against hers conspiratorially. "What?" He whispered.
"He loves me!"
The two of them smiled so hard El thought both of their jaws might break off.
"He does, El," said Mike, grinning, lips a hair's breadth away from hers. "He really does."
alright so that's the end of it! it's been a wonderful 8 months working on this story and i will probably always hold it close to my heart. developing this mike&el has certainly been a journey that i feel has improved my writing. that said, i'd like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing! but an especially big thank you to the people who reviewed because it really made my day when i checked and saw a bunch of people saying things and having reactions to my writing :) all a writer ever wants is feedback,,,,,,,,, we're all thirsty for comments,,,,,,,,,
hands up how many of you would be interested in a sequel? i'm kinda on the fence abt it rn and would be taking a break from multichapter for a bit, but tell me if you'd prefer a sequel to this or something new bc i've already got new ideas!
PS my tumblr is urdearestmom if you wanna hmu. send me prompts/requests or something. i'm gonna be doing oneshots for a while
PPS did anyone notice i never explained why el is called el in this fic? haha make up your own headcanon time!