You know, up until a few weeks ago, I never heard of Stranger Things. Okay, that was a lie, I heard about it fleetingly but it was never on my radar. Then I kept seeing the ads on various fandom sites and links that gushed over the upcoming third season so I got curious and decided to watch it.

22 hours later, I had finished binge-ing all three seasons and I was hooked (and tired).

I never really was a shipper. I never care when a show puts to characters together and we as viewers should care just because they are, except when the two characters in question display the chemistry that allows the pairing. And I was mesmerized by the chemistry shown by Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown. For such young actors, they play the couple in love amazingly (especially episode 1 of season 3 and the end of episode 4 of season 3 right after the Sauna fight)

So, I decided to put my meager writing skills to this since a particular case of writer's block makes it impossible for me to write for my other stories.

This is going to be a Mileven story, set after season 3. Just my take on what I hope Season 4 will look like.

I'll rate this T for now, but I may have to change it to M later, depending on how explicit I will be with my descriptions. And of course, depending on the reaction of the readers ;)

Also, I'm German so if you find a typo here or there, ignore it ^^

So, without further ado, enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.

"Hey guys!" Joyce greeted the group as they piled into the house she had rented in their new home town, hugging each of them in turn.

"Hi, Misses Byers." Nancy greeted back for the others, the guys and other girl already moving inside in search of their friends.

"Byers!" Dustin and Lucas shout in unison, seeing the smaller boy exiting his room and enveloping him in crushing bear hugs.

"Guys, where's Mike?" Joyce asked.

"He's bringing the luggage." Dustin waved her off.

"Okay, who decided that I was the designated carrier for everyone's stuff?" Mike puffed as he entered the house, dropping half a dozen suitcases and bags.

"Ever since you turned into Arnold Schwarzenegger." Lucas grinned.

"He didn't have to carry everything on his own." Jonathan chuckled, putting down a single suitcase.

"Wow, Mike, you... changed." Joyce looked up at the young man, now even taller than he was when they left Hawkins.

"I took up swimming." Mike said as explanation for his transformation.

"He basically lives at the pool three days a week." Dustin scoffed. "Sometimes four."

"Only after school. And maybe you should..." Mike started a retort directed at Dustin but was cut short by the appearance of the one woman he has come to see.

"Mike." El whispered, a smile forming on her face.

He didn't say anything, he just took three big steps forward and wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her lips against hers. Eleven was shocked at this sudden contact for only a second, then her body responded to his presence. He was even taller than the last time she had seen him, when they had said their tearful goodbyes and his arms looked bigger too.

His increased strength was confirmed when he lifted her off her feet, his arms easily holding her up while he kissed her as if his life depended on it. And when the minute mark was passed, El felt as if she would truly die as soon as he stopped kissing her. To support herself, she wrapped her legs around his waist, an action that caused their friends to hoot and holler.

"Get a room!" Dustin yelled laughing.

"Get a girl!" Mike shouted back, laughing and letting El back down.

"Okay, that was uncalled for." Dustin huffed. "You know my girl is in Utah."

"Can you really call that a girlfriend?" Lucas asked. "You can never see her. You said it yourself, her parents would never allow it."

"A man can dream." Dustin shrugged.

"A dreaming man who built a bitchin' radio tower for his best friend." Max giggled.

"You got your own radio tower?" El smiled at Mike, her arm linked through his.

"He was hogging my Cerebro." Dustin wiggled an accusing finger at Mike. "I almost missed one of my weekly radio dates with Suzie because he kept talking to you. I had to pull the battery for him to stop."

"Is that why you cut out in the middle of your sentence that one time?" El laughed.

"Yeah." Mike nodded.

"So I built him his own tower and we installed it on his roof." Dustin finished. "And that pisses me off even more."

"Why?" El asked.

"Because he must be the luckiest guy in the world!" Dustin huffed.

"Don't I know it." he grinned, pressing a kiss against El's temple, who giggled and hugged him even fiercer, stepping in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her.

"I have to go to Weathertop to talk to my girlfriend. I have to sit there, in the open, even when it's raining. And I build the same thing on Mike's roof and even with the trees behind his house, he gets a clear signal to you."

"Maybe because this place is closer to Hawkins than Utah?" El suggested.

"Probably." Dustin sighed. "Still stinks."

"I offered you to help build a new Cerebro at your house." Mike said.

"Yeah, as if my mother would ever allow that." Dustin scoffed. "And you probably would do more harm than good if you helped me. Probably break some delicate piece of technology by accident with your new muscles."

"You act as if I spend all day crushing coconuts with my bare hands." Mike laughed.

"Boys!" Joyce interjected. "How about we take care of the sleeping arrangements before you continue this argument? I still have a shopping list to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner in two days."

"Yes, Misses Byers." the boys said in unison.

"So, Nancy will stay with Jonathan in his room and Mike can stay in Jane's room. Lucas, Max, if you want to stay in a room together, I'll offer you the guest room, though it's not that big. Dustin would have to sleep in Will's room." Joyce told them.

"You'd let Mike stay in El's room?" Dustin asked.

"I doubt I could prevent it." Joyce chuckled. "If I put him with you guys, he'll simply sneak into her room or she crawls into his sleeping bag."

"Highly likely." Dustin agreed and the grin on Eleven's face told him the rest.

"But, you guys, no funny business." Joyce warned them before she went into the kitchen.

"Of course, Misses Byers." Mike nodded, ever the gentleman.

"Why does she call you Jane and not El, like the rest of us?" Lucas wondered.

"She does it because it's the name listed on the birth certificate." Will explained. "And by calling her Jane, we have less risk of calling her El or Eleven when others could hear us and wonder why."

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Lucas asked, accepting the explanation. "Movies?"

"Well, I brought this." Mike smiled and pulled out the newest Dungeons and Dragons campaign book.

"You want to play D&D?" Will asked excited and skipped into the dining area where the biggest table in the house was located.

"Yeah, of course." Mike nodded, the group following. "I remembered how disappointed you were when the rest of us got too busy with our relationships, so we wanted to remedy that."

"It's true." Dustin said and Lucas nodded.

"It's a campaign set for four to six people, level nine and should take between ten and twenty hours."

"That short?" Will moped.

"Short?" Max gasped.

"I didn't want to take a longer one since we can't play every week anymore." Mike shrugged, ignoring Max's gasp as if twenty hours of playing was normal. "I mean, we could play and then keep our progress until we meet again on Christmas but I don't want to risk anyone losing something or forgetting where we were."

"El, you wanna play with them or do girl stuff?" Max asked.

"Max, you rarely do 'girl stuff'." El air-quoted.

"She's just annoyed because she doesn't have a real character." Lucas grinned.

"Hey, I'm the zoomer." she hit his arm.

"Which doesn't exist." Mike smiled.

"Yeah yeah, why don't you make more tea for Morticia and Gomez." Max huffed.

"Come on, seriously?" Mike groaned.

"What does that mean?" El wanted to know.

"Some people in school have started calling him Lurch because of his height." Max grinned, then saw El's confused face. "He's the butler from the Adams family."

"I'm not even that tall." Mike argued. "There are some taller than me."

"Dude, you're like over six feet tall, that's huge." Dustin added.

"What was my character?" El asked, bringing their talk back to the game.

"You're the mage." Mike told her, thankful.

"I thought Will was your mage."

"He used to be before we met you, but now Will is the Cleric, the most important member of the party." Mike corrected.

"Really?" Will perked up, touched by the sentiment.

"Of course." Mike nodded. "If I weren't there, you could still do campaigns, since you have a Ranger to fight, even though it would be harder. Without the Ranger, you'd still have the Bard for some the same things. Without the Bard, nothing would change much..."

"Thanks dude." Dustin deadpanned, to the laughter of the group.

"Just kidding, without the Bard, we'd have it more difficult with the diplomatic solutions and we'd lack some auras." Mike smiled. "Without a mage, we can still have some magic use in the party but without a Cleric, we would die quickly or get poor because we'd have to buy tons of healing potions."

"What about me?" Max asked.

"Since you can't define your character class, I don't know if your absence would make an impact." Mike shrugged. "What are your defining abilities?"

"I can move forward quickly to kill the enemies." Max said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lucas grinned at Mike and Dustin, who nodded.

"What?" Max looked at them, seeing Mike grin.

"Jaezred Chaulssin." Mike grinned with them, Dustin and Lucas nodding vigorously.

"What is that?" El wanted to know.

"Drow assassins." Dustin grinned. "We could add that her character had some sorcerer training, so she can do the shadow walk and that she was banned from the Underdark."

"What is a shadow walk?" Max asked.

"Uh... well, enter the shadow realm as a shortcut to..." Lucas started.

"You zoom back and forth." Dustin interrupted him.

"Oh, okay." Max nodded, mollified.

"Alright, lets do this." Will said excitedly and the group sat down.

"The party is sitting in the inn, Will the wise stroking his beard as they listened to the story of the female mage who had approached them." Mike started the narration. "She told of a new danger threatening the world, an invasion from the Underdark and their demon allies. But she also says that the alliance between the Drow and the demons can be thwarted because the demons want an ancient artifact as payment and if they could get it before them and destroy it, the crisis could be averted."

"Wait, if you four are the party and El is supposedly the mage sitting with you, where am I?" Max interrupted.

"Don't worry, I'm not forgetting you." Mike chuckled.

"The party moved out, using the daylight to travel as many miles as possible. As usual, the paladin led the way while the Ranger kept his senses alert for threats and the Bard sang songs to strengthen his companions' endurance and mood. To their surprise, the petite mage kept up without problems, possibly using a spell of her own to lend her strength." Mike continued the story, receiving a smile and a kiss on the cheek from his girlfriend. "When the sun began setting, Lucas found a place for them to make camp, the party and their mage companion settling down. The Paladin decided on first watch, Lucas agreed to second watch and Dustin the third."

"What about me?" El asked.

"When we play, we usually let the magic users sleep through the night because it takes eight hours of uninterrupted rest to regain spells." Mike explained.

"Okay." El nodded.

"Is something happening during the night?" Dustin asked.

"Lets roll." Mike said and rolled some dice. "First watch ... nothing. Second watch... Lucas's ears perk up when he hears something too big to be an animal cropping through the brush around them."

"I shout a challenge and use my elven eyes to find the stranger." Lucas announced.

"Roll it." Mike nodded and Lucas rolled an eighteen.

"You find the source of the disturbance." Mike narrated. "It turns out that it's a member of the race that the mage said would be attacking the Overworld soon. She closes in but tries to stay as far away from the light of the fire, her sensitive eyes unused to light. Lucas wakes his companions who jump up when they see the intruder."

"That's me?" Max asked.

"Yes." Mike nodded. "The new arrival told a story of deceit and betrayal, how she left her native home of Chaulssin, the city of Wyrmshadows because she couldn't stand her ruling elite's slow progress in fighting the Drow who still worship their god Lolth. And after hearing about the planned invasion of the overworld, to damage their cause even more, she wanted to stop it by destroying the artifact that the demons desired, even when it means forming an alliance with topworlders."

"What do we do about her traveling with us?" Dustin asked. "As a Drow, she is very sensitive to light, isn't she?"

"Yes, she has to walk around with her cowl drawn down her head to avoid light." Mike nodded. "When we reach the next large town, we're going to have to check if we can buy an artifact or something that could fix that."

"You mean sunglasses?" Max asked.

"There are no sunglasses in Dungeons and Dragons." Lucas huffed.

"Sorry." Max smirked at him, rolling her eyes.

The group played the campaign Mike had bought and planned out for the next three hours until they had to take a break due to most of them needing to use the toilet. After everyone had their turn, they grabbed some of the snacks that they had laid out on a smaller table next to the big one, Lucas bringing a bowl where Max poured a bag of potato chips into.

El grabbed and ate one, taking a second which she held over Mikes head, the latter leaning back so El could put it into his mouth, smiling at the man she loved as he winked at her. The toaster spit out its content and El grabbed the two Eggo waffles, sprinkling both with powdered sugar and handing one on a plate to Mike who took it gratefully and bit a large piece off, most of it hanging out of his mouth.

Before he could use his other hand to break it off, El grabbed his arm to stop him and put her lips on his, biting off the piece he had sticking out of his mouth. With a grin, she lifted her head back up and chewed contentedly, enjoying the taste of her favorite sweet snack.

"That was highly unsanitary, you know that?" Lucas asked, Max only grinning.

"Oh really?" Mike smirked.

"Really." Lucas nodded.

"Alright, what about this then?" Mike grinned and pulled El back down, pressing his lips to hers and ending the kiss with more Eggo waffle in his mouth than he had before the kiss.

"Ew, gross." Dustin made a face. "But seriously, how many of those can you eat? You eat them all the time."

"They taste good." El smiled.

"And come on, Lucas enjoys drinking New Coke and calls it delicious." Mike added.

"Yeah, you're right, that's simply wrong." Dustin admitted.

"What's wrong with New Coke?" Lucas asked indignantly.

"Everything." Everyone but Eleven, since she had never tasted either, replied in unison.

"Lucas, it's syrupy piss-water." Dustin said. "As if they had taken the original and added three times the amount of sugar."

"El, what do you think?"

"I don't know, I never drank either." El shrugged.

"Okay, taste this." Lucas said, handing her a can of regular coca-cola.

"It's very sweet and burns in my mouth." El commented, setting the can back down.

"That's just the carbon dioxide to make it fizzle, you get used to it." Dustin explained as Lucas handed her a glass of water and a can of New Coke.

"Now, drink this water to clean your mouth and then taste New Coke." Lucas smiled, looking smugly at his friends while El did, only for his face to fall when El spit out the New Coke into the water glass.

"Oh, that's just... ew." El made a disgusted face.

"See?" Mike said and rubbed her back. "It's just you who likes this crap."

"I wonder who at that company thought this was a great idea." Max wondered.

"Guys, it all makes sense." Dustin spoke up, the others looking at him. "Think about it, they introduce a new version of coke, have it bomb and reintroduce their old recipe as Coke classic or something and it gets sold by the millions."

"That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Will shook his head.

"Lets just continue to the game." Mike brought back their focus to what they were doing.

They kept playing and taking a break or two until Mike announced the end of the session when the clock showed it to be two-thirty in the morning. After everyone had washed up and brushed their teeth, the group had dispersed into their various rooms, everyone simply flopping into their respective beds or sleeping bags, their tiredness quickly overcoming any desire to kiss the night away.

But tonight was different for Eleven. Since losing her powers during the battle at Starcourt Mall, she had never dreamed of anything related to the Upside Down, bar the occasional nightmares that were about her time in the lab. But now, she found herself in the void, the dimension somewhere between the Upside Down and the real world.

She looked around and saw nothing, heard nothing. She began running, trying to get out, waiting for the growl of Demogorgons or the Mind Flayer that she always heard when she got here and stayed too long. After running for what felt like hours, she saw a single bed in the distance, a figure supposedly sleeping in it.

As she closed in, she could make out features of the person atop the covers. It was an adult man, dressed only in shorts, a hint of a beard on his face, his hair cut short like hers used to be in the lab. If she had to guess, she'd say that he was as tall as Mike was currently but much broader. He also had numerous scars on his body, which looked like they came from wounds caused by knifes or other cutting tools, also some on his back that reminded her of lash marks as if he had been whipped.

But the one thing that drew her gaze the most was a small tattoo on his left forearm, a discovery that made her breath hitch and her body shake from the memories it conjured. There, in dark ink, was written a 001, three numbers that caused her to whimper almost in fear when the shadow of Dr. Brenner appeared behind the bed, his face contorted in anger, a face she remembered all too well from the times she failed in whatever task he had set for her.

"Who are you?" a question snapped her out of her memories and she looked into a pair of green eyes speckled with gray spots but before she could react, the void disappeared and her bedroom replaced her surroundings.

She sat up, breathing heavily, the comforter she shared with Mike falling away. She felt a sheen of sweat on her forehead and got out of the bed to go to the bathroom to wash her face and use the toilet while she was in here. She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror, seeing no hint of a nosebleed. Shrugging the images off as a strange dream, she returned to the bedroom, the first light of the morning seeping through the window and illuminating Mike's sleeping form.

She stood at the foot of the bed and watched him sleep. His face looked serene, his breathing even and his arm in the spot where she had lain a few minutes ago. She saw that his shirt had ridden up a bit during the night and overcome with curiosity, she knelt on the bed and gently pulled it up even more, making his stomach visible. She saw the toning he developed with the swimming he had taken up and she ran her hand over it, her hand moving close to the waistband of his pajama bottoms.

She was startled when a bulge suddenly developed under his bottoms, growing further and further and making it look as if his pants would soon rip. She was about to shake him apart when the growing stopped but when he didn't wake up or showed any signs of being in pain, she refrained from doing it, instead gingerly poking the area, which made him murmur.

"Good morning beautiful." he mumbled, opening his eyes and seeing her sitting next to him.

"Morning." she blushed slightly and saw his slight smile as he looked up and down her form. "What?"

"You look stunning even the first thing in the morning." he hummed and ran his hand over her thigh where her shirt ended. "Wait, isn't that my shirt? I was looking for this at home."

"I kept it." she whispered. "It smelled like you. You want it back?"

"Nah, it looks so much better on you." he smiled warmly.

She bent down and dropped a kiss on his lips, scrunching her face and retreating again when she tasted his mouth. He could only chuckle and when she saw his face equally scrunched, she could only laugh with him.

"Why is your breath so bad?" she giggled.

"Yours is bad as well." he chuckled as well and grabbed a bottle of juice that was standing on her nightstand, handing it to her first. "It's called morning breath."

"Why is it so bad?" she asked and took a sip before handing him the bottle.

"No idea, I should ask my biology teacher next time I see her." Mike said and took a sip himself.

"Yeah, but not today." she smiled and took the bottle away from him, capping it and placing it onto the nightstand before throwing herself at him.

Pressed against his side, she kissed him hard. Unlike all the times they kissed before, this time she felt his tongue press against her lips. They parted on their own, allowing him to explore her mouth and after overcoming the initial shock, her own tongue darted back, both dancing the age-old dance of love while his right hand moved up and down her back, ever more going further down to her behind until his pinky finger tentatively explored her left, covered-by-his-shirt, cheek.

"I gotta pee." Mike suddenly interrupted the kiss.

"Romantic." El raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sorry." he chuckled and hurried to the bathroom, leaving her grinning in bed but unable to stop ogling his behind as he stood up.

"Dude, I wanted to use it." she heard Dustin's voice.

"Right when I'm done." Mike's voice replied.

"Hey, El." Dustin waved at her when he saw her through the still open door.

"Morning." she waved back, hoping that Mike's shirt was long enough to cover her lower body, but Dustin gave no indication that he saw anything she would only Mike allow to see.

"Hey, bathroom free?" Lucas's voice added itself to the mix.

"No, Mike's in there." Dustin told him.

"Morning, El." Lucas waved at her.

"Stop ogling her." Max growled as she grabbed Lucas' head and turned it forcefully away from El.

"I wasn't... ow!" Lucas squealed when Max flicked his earlobe.

"Where did you all come from?" Mike asked as he exited the bathroom, seeing his three friends standing there.

"It's morning and we had a lot to drink last night." Dustin replied and hurried inside.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" Max huffed as the door closed.

"Not when it comes to using the bathroom in the morning!" Dustin called out from inside.

"Come on, lets get dressed so we can have breakfast." Mike smiled, holding out his arms so she could grab them.

He pulled her up and she fell into his arms, enjoying the feeling of warmth and safety she always got when he was holding her. His height allowed her to bury her head into his chest, deeply inhaling the scent that she loved. He pressed a kiss against her forehead and left the room, giving her privacy so she could change into her clothes for the day. For some reason, she had hoped he would stay and watch her, but Mike was too much of a gentleman to do that without her inviting him to do that.

"Morning boys." a tired Joyce greeted them as they filed into the dining area where they had played the night before.

"Where's our stuff?" Dustin asked in panic, looking around. "We kept it there to know where we left off."

"Don't worry, it's over there." Joyce pointed to the small cabinet, where their figurines and papers were situated. "Enjoy breakfast."

"Aren't you eating with us?" Mike asked as a tired Will shuffled out of his room.

"I already ate." Joyce said. "Not enough room for all of us."

"Wow." Dustin gasped when he saw the table. "Misses Byers, can I move in here?"

"Enjoy your breakfast." Joyce laughed and ruffled Dustin's locks.

The group ate their breakfast all the while talking excitedly about the upcoming day, planning everything they wanted to do today. Max kept insisting to go shopping with El without the boys, so Dustin suggested going to the local mall where the girls could shop while the guys could get some more gaming stuff or check out the local arcades. Halfway through the breakfast, El excused herself, seeking out her surrogate mother who she found in the living room, sitting on the couch, nursing a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

"Joyce?" El asked her, getting the woman's attention when the others were out of earshot.

"Yes, honey?" Joyce smiled at her.

"I have a question."

"About?" Joyce looked at her ward, taking a sip from her coffee.

"When I woke up this morning, I saw Mike sleeping and his underwear bulged up." El said, showing the tent shape with her hands and making Joyce spit her mouthful back into the cup.

"Wh... What?" Joyce sputtered.

"What was that?" El asked, wondering about her surrogate mother's reaction.

"Ugh, I should have never agreed to let you two sleep in the same bed." Joyce muttered to herself before seeing Eleven stare at her. "Uh... that was... didn't Hopper ever have the talk with you?"

"The talk?"

"Yes, the talk about... you know."

"Know what?"

"Well... the sex talk?" Joyce hoped against all odds.

"No." El shook her head, shrugging.

"Of course he didn't." Joyce sighed. "And didn't you have sex education in school yet?"

"No." El shook her head again.

"Right, you probably got in too late." Joyce sighed and bowed to the inevitable. "Well, you know men and women are different, right?"

"Different species?" El inquired. "That's what Lucas called us."

"Not different in that kind of way." Joyce shook her head, chuckling.

"Then how?"

"Well, you know how women have... you know, breasts and men don't?" she started, cupping the air in front of her chest, and El nodded. "And between their legs, men have a... a..."

"A what?" El prodded, wondering why Joyce was blushing so hard.

"Ah, screw it." Joyce shook her head, realizing that her ward was at an age where she should know this. "Men have a penis. Women have vaginas. And when men reach puberty, they can have erections, which means the penis grows and gets hard but it doesn't stay that way."

"Why?"

"Erections are signs of sexual arousal." Joyce explained.

"So, Mike was sexually aroused in his sleep? Was he dreaming something sexual?" she wanted to know, not telling Joyce that she had been caressing his stomach close to his crotch.

"Maybe." Joyce shrugged. "You said he was sleeping, right?"

"Yes." El nodded.

"Men can have several erections during sleep. The last one before the man wakes up I also called morning wood, or morning erection." she continued. "So, it could be that Mike was dreaming something steamy but it could also be that his body does the same thing every man's body does at his age."

"Thank you."

"Jane, you must have had periods already, right?" Joyce asked with El nodding in reply. "Didn't Hop ever tell you why that was? Did you ever ask him?"

"When it happened the first time, I cried because I thought I was injured." El remembered. "He took me in his arms and explained that I was going into puberty and that was completely normal."

"But he never expanded that explanation to what puberty looks like in boys?"

"No."

"Hop, you lovable fool." Joyce sighed sadly and took another sip of her coffee.

"How do I know when I'm sexually aroused?" El suddenly asked, making her spit it back into the glass again. "Sorry."

"Alright, wait here." Joyce put her glass down and got up, moving into her bedroom and returning a few minutes later with a stack of magazines. "Read those."

"Cosmopolitan?" El read the title.

"Yes, these issues explain everything really well." Joyce nodded and handed them over. "Read them, and if you have any other questions afterwards, come to me again."

"Thanks." El smiled. "Mom."

Joyce managed to wait until El had left the living room before she let some emotional tears fall. She missed Hopper but she was also touched that Jane was beginning to see her as her mom. Her mind went back to the day when she was in the underground bunker, watching as Hop stood behind the arcing electricity and giving her that tiny nod that told her to destroy the machine, even knowing it would kill him but safe his daughter.

Wiping away a tear, she went back to reading her magazine but she didn't really remember any of the words, her mind going through possibilities that would never be.

So, I decided to stop here. What do you think? Does it merit me to continue or are you turned off by my writing and throwing up right now? ^^

Review please :)