#mileven fanfiction

[sappmlvn]

Trying on make-up together~

Mike has always admired make-up from afar, he's begged Nancy to let him watch when she does it, practiced how to help his mom with it, and so on. Ted has never liked that about him, Mike never understood why and kept admiring it, until bullies had seen him staring at a girl in the hall putting on lipgloss.

Since then, he had kept to himself and admired silently. He felt so happy when he got to dress up El & do her make-up and hair, he always wanted to do it too, but he was happy to put the way he wanted to look onto the girl he had a crush on.

He'd admire El put on make-up after he taught her, El had caught on that he wasn't admiring because she was pretty. It was one of the reasons yeahc but the real reason was because he wanted to test it. He wanted to wear make-up and look pretty.

El signaled for him to sit down near bed, grabbed a blender and started putting foundation on him without warning. He jumped back, asked what she was doing, and she informed him she was doing his make-up because it was obvious he wanted to.

Mike smiled a bit and let her continue. El put him on make-up, dressed him up in a cute outfit and added some accessories on him.

When he looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but cry a bit. He hugged el tight, thanked her 50 times and kissed her cheeks because he didn't wanna get lipstick on her lips. He was happy, he was finally slowly becoming himself.

Thanks to the help of El and how supportive she is.

#sapphic mileven #mileven #mileven are so cute #mike x eleven #elmike #mike wheeler #el hopper #stranger things #st #mileven fanfic #mileven fanfiction #mileven fluff #lesbian mileven #genderfluid mike wheeler

[truessences]

hc. el steals all of mikes clothing and didn’t find out until when he went into her closet after months of her doing this and her entire closet was his clothes. he didn’t care, he loved it, half of the clothes didn’t even fit anymore

So sweet! Especially since I think she's wearing his blue hoodie in the finale of S4. That makes sense. Since Mike is so much taller than he was before, I'm sure he still has some old shirts that El is like "well, he can't possibly fit that anymore" and she takes it. But she finds a shirt that he currently wears and uses it as a pajama t-shirt and he looks for it to wear and thinks it's just missing... same thing happens with his hellfire shirt (but that's easily remade).

Quick Story Blurb lol.

"Mike can you grab that box out of the trunk?" Nancy called as she dashed up the stairs to Hopper's cabin.

"Why didn't you use the bathroom before we left?" He shouted after her, but he does what she asks. He stumbled out of the front seat, his long legs feeling a little too long.

As he walked to the back of the car, he can't help but think how just a few months ago, everything went to major shit. Max was in the hospital and they weren't sure if she was going to pull through. Eddie...Eddie was gone. And Hawkins was split open leaving destruction and gates to the Upside Down.

But at least the Byers were back in Hawkins. At least Hopper was alive and back... and El... at least El was back. It wasn't them same with all of them being gone.

Mike opened the trunk and grabbed the cardboard box marked "Clothes" in Nancy's fancy scrawl. He lifted it into his arms and closed the trunk with his elbow. Nancy gave a lot of her old things to the relief center that was set up in Hawkins High School's gym, they all did but El was also in need. Her, the Byers and Hopper. They were all packed into Hopper's tiny cabin and it probably didn't help that Mike and Nancy visited often.

When he walked into the cabin, his eyes scanned the room. Joyce and Nancy were in the kitchen, putting things in the fridge that has been scrubbed as clean as it could get. Hopper, Jonathan and Will were nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"They went to the high school to see if they could help with anything, there's still a lot of people misplaced and in need," Nancy said.

"El is in her room," Joyce added.

With a nod, Mike walked over and knocked on the door that was open three inches.

"Come in," came the quiet voice. El was sitting on her bed, holding a glass bottle. She looked up at him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Hey," he said gently, setting the box down next to her bed. He sits across from her after kicking off his shoes. "Thinking about Max?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm going to visit her again tomorrow. Joyce said she'll take me."

"I'll be there too, Lucas has been there as much as he can and I know he probably needs a break."

They sat silently for a moment. Mike reached over and slipped his hand into hers. He wasn't always the most verbal when it came to expressing his feelings but he now knew that that was something Eleven needed and wanted. But there were times where they didn't have to speak, maybe being here was enough.

He wasn't sure how long they sat, just holding hands but it was nice and safe.

"We brought you some more stuff," he finally said. "I know coming back to Hawkins has been an adjustment but Nancy had some old stuff she wanted to give you."

"Is there anything yellow?" El asked as Mike lifted the box on the bed.

"Um, I don't know. I don't pay attention to what Nancy wears," he said with a shrug. "But she's always had a lot of clothes, I'm sure there's yellow and purple in there somewhere."

With light laughter and conversation, Mike and El went through the box that Nancy packed tight full of shirts, pants, skirts and a few dresses.

"I really like this one," she said spinning around holding the dress in front of her. "Pretty?"

"Pretty," he said, smiling. God, he loved her so much.

There was a soft knock on the door and Joyce poked her head in.

"El, can I borrow you for a second?"

She nods 'okay'. Mike smiled at her as she paused at the door to give him one more glance and a soft smile in return.

While she was gone, Mike's eyes ran over her room. She did a good job in the last couple of months trying to make it hers again. They really came back to a mess after the Mind Flayer's attack last summer.

He noticed a few sketches that were slowly being painted, must be Will's doing. He's really come a long way.

He hopped off the bed, deciding that he should be helpful and hang up the clothes.

"Hey El, I'll put the clothes away for you!" he shouted.

"Okay!"

He grabbed the dress she liked, opened the closet and froze, surprised. Hanging up next to a few clothes Joyce probably picked up and the blue hoodie he gave her, was MIke's Hellfire t-shirt (when did she take that?), some of his other shirts and jeans and in particular, the button down grey and blue shirt he wore the day he found her in the desert and when he told her he loved her...

"What the-?" He mumbled, reaching for the shirt. He remembered buying it, after meeting and spending time with Eddie Munson in Hellfire, he wanted to change up his wardrobe. Eddie was so cool. He'd never told anyone but he also want to grow his hair out like Eddie's too. He'd talked his mom into letting him pick out his own clothes for the spring and he liked this shirt.

"What are you doing?"

He jumped, startled, seeing El standing in the doorway, her brown eyes wide.

"Uh-" he looked back at the closet, and the dress in his hands. "Just hanging up the dress. "So, when did you get this stuff?"

"I- I just wanted-"

Mike smirked as she fumbled with an answer. He held his arms open and El frowned, confused but walked into his outstretched arms. He held her tight and chuckled softly.

"It's okay, really El."

"It is?" She asked, her eyes impossibly wide. Mike's chest swelled, he loved her so much.

"Yeah," he pulled on the yellow collard, blue shirt he wore last summer. "I can't fit these anymore anyway. Way too tall and gangly."

"Gangly?"

"Yeah, it's what my mom says. She says I'm all limbs." He said flailing his arms around with light laughter. Eleven wasn't laughing, instead she chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes glancing back to her closet filled with Mike's old clothes.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Was she really worried that he was upset about this?

"I just wanted something of yours for when you're not here. You- you're safe Mike and after everything, I wanted-" he waited patiently, while she mulled over her thoughts. "I wanted to be close to you."

Mike squeezed her shoulders, her gaze returning to his. He took one of her hands and laced their fingers together.

"You can have any of my clothes you want El. I want you to know that I'm here for you... always and you're safe," he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."

He felt her take a deep breath, her free hand reaching up and curling her fingers in his hair.

"I love you too."

When they pulled apart, Eleven pulled out the Hellfire shirt and the blue and grey shirt with a grin. The tension melting away from her body.

"These are my favorites."

"Mine too," he said with a laugh and reached for his Hellfire shirt. "I actually need this one though. Me and the guys were gonna..."

He trailed off seeing her pout, her fingers holding tightly to the hanger.

"It's okay... we can share it."

#mileven #Mileven fanfiction #just a blurb lol #anon asks #anon answers

[formerlyjannafaye]

2 Days Later: El & Mike’s Story

Part 1: Piggybacks & Heart Attacks

“She loved him so deeply she felt like her heart could burst. Even now, when everything was going to shit, and she felt like sadness and grief would plague her forever, he made her heart feel light. Only Mike could do that.”

Scenes we should’ve had (but now get to write ourselves), starting from El waking up in the Surfer Boy Pizza kitchen and following Mike and El on their long drive from Nevada to Hawkins.

Read Part 1 on AO3 now.

#my writing #mileven #mileven fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #i finally did it #2 days later fic #putting this out there into the world #userkaisa #mikesmom #tagging people is awkward idk what im doing #posting this at the absolute wrong time of day? how on brand for me #too excited to wait so yeah here it is!

[stydiaandthejeep]

Eleven steps out of the cabin at night, unable to sleep after everything that happened. Mike comes to check on her and they finally, finally get a moment alone.

A mileven one shot that follows the events of the season finale

Eleven was still buzzing with the adrenaline of the day. After staying up until midnight, crowding in with everybody on the floor of the small cabin, Joyce had made the executive decision of sending all the teenagers to sleep, with the promise that they would get back to coming up with a plan first thing in the morning.

Hopper fell asleep on the blankets that Joyce had laid on the floor for him, and was now snoring loudly,just like El remembered from their days there. She watched him silently for a few moments, trying to convince herself that he was right there, safe and sound. The rest of the party had gone home to reassure their parents and get some rest, but she couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. It was all too fresh, too present in her mind: Max lying down in a hospital bed unresponsive, the deep despair she had felt confronting Vecna, seeing Papa bleed out in the desert.

She stepped out in the cold night air, trying to seek comfort from the familiar sounds and smells. One of Hopper's old hoddies was wrapped around her, and she had made the porch light turn on with a faint smile, relishing the return of her powers. Among everything that happened, she hadn't had a moment alone with Mike. They had been quiet the whole ride over, the shock of the battle leaving her speechless. Mike had given her space and only adressed her to ask of she was hungry or tired, and although unable to speak, she had tried to convey with her eyes how much what he had said meant to her. All she could read in his eyes was sickening worry, for her and his friends,his family.

Just then she heard the sound of steps coming from the trail, and a faint voice calling out. 'El? Is that you?'

She could make out Mike's silhouette even before he stepped into the light before her. She smiled, not even questioning why he wasn't home, or how worried his mom would be if she found out.

He looked pale and worried, and his voice was raspier than usual. ' I'm sorry if you still needed your space, I just.. I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to check and make sure you were okay.'

There was a nervous energy in the lines of his body, and El knew he had wanted to see her alone just as much as she did. When she spoke up her voice was quieter than usual, almost foreign to her. She felt in control of her powers, yet acting like a normal human was an effort. ' No space. Come sit with me.'

Mike breathed out a sigh of relief and sat down on the step, a respectable distance between them. She had raised her eyebrows in confusion and scooted over until they were pressed next to each other in the chilly air. Mike let out a small chuckle and then shyly wrapped his left arm around her waist, the way he did sometimes when they were hanging out in the mall food court. Eleven felt her whole body relax at the contact - tears welled up in her eyes, this time not for Max or for her dad. It had just hit her, how badly she had missed Mike.

'Missed.You.'

She hated how her power draining had made her speech regress to what it used to be before she met the party. Mike didn't question it, instead nodding and pulling her even closer.

' I missed you too. Well, I guess my speech back at the pizza shop made that quite obvious.' Even in the dim light, the girl could see how Mike's cheeks has turned a lovely shade of pink. Continuing to avoid eye contact, Mike grabbed her other hand and interlocked it with his. ' In case it wasn't obvious how in love I am with you, now I won't ever hear the end of it from the other guys.'

Eleven laughed, letting her heart swell with joy for just a few seconds, taking it in that someone loved her for who she was. She suddenly remembered how short her hair was now and what she was wearing, and she ran her fingers through it, as if that would make it magically grow back. Mike noticed the gesture and turned slightly to look at her.

' Don't worry about that, El. It will grow back. And you're still pretty regardless of it. Always."

Their voices had grown to whispers, and Eleven leaned her forehead into his shoulder as a thank you. Mike cleared his throat and took advantage of her breaking eye contact.

' I thought you weren't waking up, El. For a few, terrifying moments, my heart stopped in place and you weren't opening your eyes or breathing or twitching anymore. There was nothing but silence and the sound of Will crying and all I could think was that I had really lost you this time. You weren't taken away from me, or moving to another state. For a moment in time you were simply gone and I thought I was going to lose my mind.'

Eleven looked up, and she was met by Mike's dark eyes filled with tears. She hated seeing him cry. All she wanted was for them to be a normal teenage couple, sneaking kisses in the movie theater. She was tired of everything ripping them from one another, of having to fight for every single moment of happiness. She wiped his cheeks with the sleeve of her hoodie and he tried to smile, trying not to worry her. She remembered how his words had pulled her back from One. How she hadn't realised that in every other way that counted, Mike had been saying he loved her ever since that day in the woods.

' I'm here. Not going anywhere. And..'

She mustered up all her energy into her word, trying to sound coherent.

' I could never not want you. I'm sorry if I made you get those feelings.'

The energy was worth the grin that had spread on his face, a tinge of relief in it. Softly, he brought up his hand to gently cup her jaw. She let herself imagine they really were just a couple of teenagers, sneaking out at night to get a moment alone. An intense feeling rushed through her whenever Mike looked at her like he did then, with darkened eyes and complete focus ( Max once told her those were called 'butterflies').

'Can I kiss you, El?'

The next moment there was a loud snore that broke through the silence from the cabin, which made Eleven giggle and made Mike look completely terrified. She winked at him playfully and the next moment the porch light went out,along with any other lights around,leaving them in complete darkness. Even so, El could see how completely amazed Mike looked, laughing silently in disbelief.

She felt his lips gently pressing on hers, so she brought up her hands to tangle themselves in Mike's hair. They were soft at first, but Eleven could feel their shared desperation to get closer pour into their kiss, and she tried her best to convey all her feelings within it. Time bent and snapped into place, and all she could feel and focus for a few wonderful moments was Mike, his lips moving against hers,his scent, the feel of his hand on her jaw. She tugged at his hair while carried away and she felt him groan into her mouth, and so she pulled back immediately.

' Sorry. I hurt you?' Her question was genuine and applogetic, but she could sense Mike smiling, amused.

'No,no. That wasn't a bad, um, sound.'

She was pretty sure this was somehow related to some really awkward talks she had with Nancy a while ago, yet she wanted to make sure she hadn't hurt Mike.

' Not.. bad?'

She turned her head slightly and turned on the porch light again, this time dimmer, eager to see his face. She thought she had gotten pretty good at kissing,but maybe she was wrong

Instead , she found Mike looking flustered again, which made her smile.

' No, I mean, yes usually those kind of sounds associated with hair pulling means bad, but. In contexts like making out they're usually a positive sign that the other persob is enjoying it and um. I'm just gonna shut up now."

Eleven threw her head back laughing like a little kid, having missed how Mike blushed and rambled whenever he got embarrassed. She used to secretly ask certain things on purpose, just because she thought he looked unbelievably cute when he got like that.

' Well, Im glad you find my awkwardness amusing.' He commented under his breath, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

' I should probably go, my mom will get worried. See you tomorrow?'

Eleven got up and walked with him a few steps to his bike. 'Yes, tomorrow.' was all she could reply, choosing instead to wrap her hands around Mike's torso, noting how much taller he was than her. She gathered her in his arms and peppered her face with kisses before reluctantly letting go. 'Bye, El.'

Eleven let out a big sigh after she watched him pedal away. She refused to let her mind wander and instead laid down on her bed, falling asleep with nothing else in her head except the image of the two of them kissing in the complete darkness of the night.

#mileven fanfiction #mileven #stranger things #mileven au #mike stranger things #eleven #basically this ships makes me want to sob #i wanted them to finally get a moment away from everyone else after Mike's speech #my first mileven wip #mileven wip #mike x eleven

[fairytaehl]

In your atmosphere, in your scent that’s like flowers, I hope you can understand me like this always, for a long time

one of my favorite mileven fics ive written! its really a combo of three fics i planned on: the evolution of how comfortable they are with physical touch, a wrist kiss, and a rain kiss. it felt better to put it all in one, though maybe it could still use tweaking!

still, i love this to bits, i care sm about their relationship development and wanted to share my hopes for s5 kisses!!!

enjoy!

Summary: Physical touch was not always something that came easily to Mike Wheeler. He was stiff by nature and only settled for simple things like handshakes with his friends, tapping or nudging his older sister and the occasional required hug. Awkward was kind of his middle name.

But then El came along.

Physical touch was not always something that came easily to Mike Wheeler. He was stiff by nature and only settled for simple things like handshakes with his friends, tapping or nudging his older sister and the occasional required hug. Awkward was kind of his middle name.

But then El came along.

The impact of their two worlds colliding might as well be deemed the reason Uranus rotates on its side, a crash so strong it would forever change the trajectories of their lives.

His hugs earned more meaning, his touches more frequent and acts of undisguised care shamelessly given to those around him. Since spotting her in the forest by Mirkwood, his life had never been, and would never be, the same.

At first, it was obvious how much El had a distrust for anyone who reached out to her. The exact reasoning for why would be unknown for some time, but her flinches and closing herself off said enough to him. He was just curious when he saw her tattoo, it was impulsive and foolish and he was young, but he knew his boundaries then.

When she started to touch his arm, hold his hand, let him hug her, grasp him as she rode behind him on his bike and lean her head on him, he felt something he never had before. There was an overwhelming feeling of humble pride to be someone she trusted enough to be so physically close to, something that tugged at his heartstrings and made his heart beat faster, so much so that he hoped she didn't hear it.

There wasn't a real word for it then (that he accepted, anyways), but when he looked back on those younger days where he was unbeknownst to what the future held, to the present where he stared at her sleeping face that was still blotchy from crying in the rain earlier, pressing a kiss to her temple, he knew it had been love.

His first kiss with her was on a whim, something to get his feelings across without actually saying it. Sometimes it felt stupid to have done it then, even though they almost had in his basement's bathroom that one time, but he didn't know what else to do besides admitting he had a crush on this girl he barely knew (thanks, Lucas.) He didn't know if El even knew of the word and its meaning. The feeling, sure, but something told him there wasn't any other way to make sure she was truly aware of his feelings, so he kissed her.

The year after her disappearance saw Mike in the darkest spot he had ever been in, and somehow no one understood or wanted to sympathize. How was he supposed to move on after seeing the only girl he had ever felt romantically connected to disappear right before his eyes? How was he supposed to forget her or just remember her as some superhero who came to save the day and left when her duty was seemingly done? Call it coping with grief or whatever, but he didn't ever even believe she was gone to begin with.

And because of her, he became more attentive, more quick to physically reach out. He was afraid of losing Will again, afraid of someone else being ripped out of his hands while he wasn't close enough to grab them.

So he stayed by his side, always putting a hand or arm on him to ensure he was there and he was real (not just some memory of a best friend he lost unexpectedly), to console and ground both Will and selfishly, himself.

When day 356 came along and he saw her for the first time again, the stress and anger all washed off of him in waves and he embraced El like he never had hugged anyone else before. El, the one who showed him the meaning of genuine touches. El, the one who he fell in love with at such a tender age.

Almost kissing outside Hopper's cabin, not even caring who saw, leading her to the dance floor at his school where they finally shared a mutual kiss in front of all the other kids and their friends (and even his sister!) were moments he defined as progress. Progress for them but progress for himself, too. He didn't know how to do this dating thing, even more so since it wasn't at all conventional, so it was a guessing game. But he quickly learned that he would make himself comfortable for whatever she wanted. Kisses, hugs, touches. Even if it was foreign for him, the knowledge that she was new to this, too, only made him feel more at ease.

She would attach herself to him like a koala, and he had no gripes about it. If anything, he was overjoyed at being able to take on the role of some exquisite, totally capable, protective boyfriend as if she wasn't the one with a death toll to her name and wanted by the government.

Both hands always touching him wherever she could; his wrists, his arms, his shoulders, neck, cheeks, running through his strands of hair or lacing their fingers together, they made sure to find their place anywhere. Maybe he could admit that it comforted him to know how much she not only wanted to be with him but that maybe she was afraid to let go of him again, too.

Even when they were welcoming Dustin back from summer camp, they had to be hand in hand for the greeting, lest one of them disappears from their sight or, like it wasn't obvious already, people were unaware they were devoted to each other.

Having such casual displays of physical affection, especially amongst their friends, was rather easy for them. She could wrap her hands around his crossed arms, big doe eyes focused on what was going on but her dumpling cheek smooshed against his shoulder while she leaned as far into him as she could, and no one would ever question it. They might tease them separately, sure, but they all unspokenly knew how much it meant for them to be able to simply touch one another at all.

El never had to ask or say it; Mike would grab her hands with his and never let go, and she could hold onto him with both hands or with one, she could wrap an arm around him with a single hand while squeezing a hand tightly with her other, and she could rely on him to be there to bring her back to reality, to touch his face and to feel the strength in his grasp around her.

A lot of their kisses were mouth to mouth, but there were moments when Mike would try to do something different to make her smile extra wide, to impress her with his suave ways, to do something a little more than their typical, constant touches.

Head kisses became one that Mike did as he got taller. It wasn't one that he did too often being that sometimes they'd feel awkward, but when El was in her lowest of states, those always felt most appropriate.

If she was crying, shutting herself down, not making eye contact, he would place a soft kiss to her head to try and relieve some of the stress building up within her. She'd bring her arms around him and he would do it again until he started to pepper kisses all over her face, dotting her tears on it to stop them in their track of rolling down her cheeks.

It was one that made his heart ache to do, but he wanted to express his care for her in a way that wasn't too much, but that would be exclusive to their romantic touches. If it offered her consolation, if he got his intent across, he would feel relief that his measly, if not small, gestures could do something so comforting.

Temple kisses also were not ones he usually did, but sometimes the urge to show affection while not being too disgusting in public warranted these. Prior to the current, it had been done during the times they visited each other; the first time while they were walking down the street in Hawkins and another as they exited the airport, but another now after the one he just gave while she remained unbothered in her sleep.

Forehead kisses were more gentle, more personal, and it helped that they had the perfect height difference for them. They were the type of kiss he would give her to calm her nerves and smooth out the wrinkles forming on her forehead from worry or anger. Like when she had expressed frustration during their Thanksgiving meeting about Hopper not saying what was in his letter, visibly on the verge of tears, but he knew she would feel guilty for making their time together sad. Or like when she got mad at her Christmas visit after presenting her the promise ring, having cried from happiness but scolding herself for not even thinking to bring him anything like that in return.

Cheek kisses made him feel mushy from the cheesiness, but they were an easy sign of affection that made his girlfriend blush and smile with gee, and he would do whatever if it meant he got to see her smile.

So he'd kiss her cheek while they watched movies and he'd kiss her cheek some nights before leaving and he'd kiss her cheek as they held hands and took walks around their small, quaint town, and he'd kiss her cheek during their visits while out and about to let everyone know she was his and he was hers. Sometimes she would give him ones right back, and it was hard to ignore the way it'd give him goosebumps while simultaneously heating his body up, all thoughts stopping short as he'd goofily grin at her.

Nose kisses admittedly were one of his favorites with how he was able to make El's face scrunch up with happiness, then desperately standing up on her tip-toes to try and do the same. And what was the fun in just letting her have that? It was a perfect way to tease her, make her pout and then kiss her frown away, earning a smile from her again. Of course, he'd eventually give in and let her give his nose a peck, too, even if it felt awkward for him, he did always like it.

Bunny kisses were something he heard about from his mother, though she originally said it could be termed as an "Eskimo kiss." He preferred the former more, the name making it sound gentle and cute, a good comparison to El and her nature and their affection.

He decided to try it once while sitting in what was once Will's room on the bed during the hot summer after she had lost her powers. Their legs were crossed as they faced each other, and Mike was trying to teach her how to solve a Rubik's cube. Unprompted, and Mike completely unaware, El rested her forehead against him, stopping him in the middle of his sentence so he could look up at her. After a beat of staring, they smiled and kissed, and when they pulled away, Mike rubbed their noses against one another.

"What are you doing?" She had asked.

Mike shrugged. "Bunny kiss," he mumbled, giving her lips another peck. "Mom told me about it."

Her following giggle was music to his ears, and when she initiated the bunny kiss that next time he grinned from ear to ear.

There were a few times during that summer when they did it again, sometimes just as they snuggled in her or his room, silently spending time together while they still could.

When they had to say their goodbyes, this one came from a spur of the moment. His emotions overwhelming him, having just heard her say she loves him too meaning that she heard him, aware that she was going now for who knows how long, that it would be months before they got to hug and kiss each other again, that when they pressed their foreheads to each other after a tight embrace, he subtly rubbed their noses together. It was more comfort for himself than for her, and a mouth kiss felt like too much then. He just needed to convey that he was already missing her more than he thought was humanly possible, even though she was right in front of him. All of his insecurities crept to the top, the unsure future his reason for hugging her like it would be their last.

A couple of times while they met during the holidays and the inevitable discussion of having to say goodbye at the airport soon resulted in their faces close, El rubbing her nose against his to cheer him up. It never failed to make him smile, and he'd always follow up with a nose kiss for her tenderness.

Butterfly kisses, for once, were something El brought up to him. He had never even heard the term before, but while he was in Lenora for Thanksgiving, she asked him if he had ever heard of the term. According to her (explained after he answered with a confused "No?"), they were a type of kiss where one fluttered their eyelashes against the other person's skin or eyes.

Without him having to even ask, she pulled him close and pressed her face against his cheek, right below his eyes, blinking slowly, and it made him shiver. It was delicate, and it made him feel a little embarrassed from what felt like such an intimate and deliberate type of kiss. But he leaned his head down and placed their eyes close together to repeat the gesture, smiling when she did and gently kissing her lips. Mike wasn't sure how practical this one was, but it didn't make him like it any less, especially if she wanted it.

Shoulder kisses were something that he didn't even know were a real thing (of course they were, but what the hell did he know at fourteen?), but El's shoulder was often a place he felt at home. He knew he could tuck his head in the crook of her neck and just breathe her in, allowing her typical coconut-vanilla or lemon lavender scent to calm his nerves.

Mike had never done it before, barely even considered it (the thought fleeted before he could even process it in the moment), but when he reunited with her in the desert, kneeling down to see that she was alive, she was okay and she was there, he couldn't help himself.

Upon their embrace, he breathed her in again, even if she didn't smell like one of her usual aromas. And before they pulled away, he gave her shoulder a subtle kiss. He didn't even know if El felt it or registered it properly, but it was enough for him to be able to press his lips against some part of her to try to communicate his love for her that he had been afraid to say out loud, but not for much longer.

Rain kisses were ones he knew happened in romance movies. In real life? Well, they just seemed tacky to him. The only reason his view changed on that was the way El would coo and gape at those scenes during the romance movies he watched for her. It would be so ridiculous, truly, but he knew she would love it, and he only wanted to make her happy.

The funny thing about that was that dating El meant he felt as if he had to live up to the expectations she had from all of the films she would mention and make them watch, even if she seemed content with what they had already. With romantic gestures, touches and pet names, the only thing not being followed through with being that heavy-weighted "L" word, he'd done it all, just for her.

So during the summer before she had to leave, he knew the forecast for the day predicted a downpour. He planned the events in his head; he would go to breakfast with her and their friends, they would spend time playing video games at Dustin's house that day and then the two of them would leave right before the rainfall (not that anyone else knew), and Mike would ask if they could take a long walk home.

He and El had never walked by Mirkwood since their meeting, and though he didn't doubt her sense of memory, she probably only had an idea of the exact spot, whereas Mike had marked a tree with their initials only a couple days after her initial disappearance nearly two years ago.

There wasn't any warning before the sudden rush of rain that drenched them, and while El gasped and cowered into him, Mike held her hand tighter, saying, "Hang on, just a little further." And he wasn't lying, it was only about thirty feet more before he spotted the engraving on the wood, and he stopped right before it.

"Mike?" El tugged at his arm with both of her hands. "Mike, what are you doing? We have to go," she scolded, but laughter bubbled out at the way he was just gaping at her, not even knowing that he could feel himself falling more and more in love at that moment.

Without any more hesitation, he pressed his lips against hers for a minute, letting himself feel the rush of the moment while his clothes and hair were soaked, sticking to his skin, sure that it was the same for her.

He pulled away slowly, watching the raindrops run down her cheeks and hearing more than feeling his heartbeat pick up from admiring her beauty.

"What... was that for?" She asked, a dumbfounded smile on her face.

Mike shrugged and smiled back sheepishly. "You know, it's what they do in the movies, right?" He replied, and he saw the dots connect in her head through her eyes as he planted another kiss to her lips.

She giggled and brought her hands to his hair, and despite how the rain only got worse, they stayed in their meeting spot, expanding upon its sentimental and special meaning for what felt like hours.

Wrist kisses didn't seem to be a common thing at all, but whenever he caught El staring at her tattoo for a second too long, he always had the urge to grab her arm and give the mark a gentle kiss. It made him feel kind of pathetic for thinking that a kiss would help to ease the memories that came with her unconsented brand, but he only wanted to make sure there were no doubts in her mind about his devotion to each and every part of her.

As per usual, El was about to go off on her own to save the world and this time had been incredibly clear to everyone that she didn't want to be stopped.

"If Vecna is going to be killed by anyone, it will be by me," were the final words said to end the argument amongst them all, and though hesitation was clear on everyone's faces, Mike was the only one who followed her when she stepped out to the front of the cabin to be alone.

By the way he saw her shoulders raise up, he knew she could tell he was there, of course, but she kept on walking further into the woods where he followed, both indifferent to the drizzling that was present. He rolled his eyes, but he wasn't angry at her, he understood, there was just no holding back his exasperation.

As El stomped on through the crisp leaves, Mike tried to call for her several times. She ignored each of his attempts for nearly half a mile, never telling him to go away or trying to stop him with her powers, but not giving him any type of response, either.

Surmising it may not be a good idea but still going through with it anyways, Mike jogged through the now pouring rain up to her and grabbed her shoulder, effectively stopping her, and he knew it was since she let him.

El turned around and glared at him, but it contained no malice, only general distaste for her walk to clear her head having been interrupted. He wanted to hug her and comfort her, but he couldn't do so without speaking to her about this first.

"What?" She asked, voice monotone and near cold.

An angry huff escaped his lips as he shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands up in question only to drop them down to his side again, followed by a plop from the dampness. "El, seriously? What are you even thinking right now? You wanna go and be this independent superhero again?" He knew he sounded angry, but after all this time, he couldn't grasp why she didn't want help.

El shook her head. "Mike. I am not fighting you on this," she warned. "I am doing this alone and you cannot stop me from that." A surprising pause that had him holding his breath, and then, "Please... stop," she pleaded, and even though she tried to come off as mad, he could see through her facade, learning how to read her long ago.

Despite how much he wanted to respect her wishes, especially since it was a trait that came naturally with her, he couldn't bear to keep his mouth shut this time, to let her walk away while all he did was stand there and watch.

"El," Mike started, voice firm even though he saw her eyes start to water, "you're going to sacrifice yourself again for what? Why can't you just accept help? Why can't we help you? Why can't I help you?"

He saw her swallow thickly, shutting her eyes for a moment to presumably hold back tears before opening them up to stare at him, the action unfruitful as tears welled up and spilled out. She hiccuped, and for a moment Mike wanted to forget the argument and let her have her way, unable to stand to see her cry, but this was one thing he had to put his foot down for.

"Mike, please—"

"No, El," he cut her off and took a step closer, and goddammit the fear in her eyes almost made him stop but he wasn't going to. "You almost died last time. Do you understand that?" El nodded in response, rain droplets on her face making her tears look like they came in an abundance, tempting him to wipe them all away. "El, if you go this time," he took a deep breath in through his nose, afraid to even speak this into existence, "this could be one of the last times I ever see you."

He watched her crumble and close in on herself, shaking her head and shivering from her sobs and the cold. He felt himself start to cry, vision becoming blurry at the sight of the girl he loved most feeling this way because of him. It took him back to their argument in her California home, but this was an entirely different situation, and he couldn't let her leave this time without him.

El didn't even respond, words failing her every time she tried, and all she was able to do was wipe away her tears with the back of her hands. At this point, Mike was unable to control himself, grabbing her left forearm right below her tattoo and bringing it to his lips to place a soft, lingering kiss, rain trailing down her arm and building up where his mouth met her skin.

Mike felt her tense up and stare at him, but he closed his eyes for a few seconds, taking another deep breath through his nose and grabbing her left wrist with both of his hands as he pulled away and looked at her.

"I love you, El. And I can't lose you," he whispered loud enough for her to hear over the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the dirt, observing the way her eyebrows drew together and her eyes softened.

It wasn't the first time he had said those words since that moment at Surfer Boy's Pizza, but it had been during sweet, romantic moments where they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. This time was unlike the others, maybe more impactful than some of those prior, and he could see that recognition within El's stare.

She shook her head and gave him a sad smile, and he was afraid she was about to burst into tears again as she reached up to touch his cheek with one of her hands. "Mike," she sighed out shakily, "I love you, too." El glanced down and wet her lips, eyes trailing back up to his. "I'm sorry."

Mike hushed her, touching her forehead with his. "You don't have to be, El." He gave her head a kiss. "I know how much this means to you, trust me, I do." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "But you know how hard this is for me, too, right?" He placed his lips to her forehead. "I don't know if I can stand to do this again." He kissed each of her cheeks. "I don't know if I can let you go off on your own again." He gave her nose a kiss. "I want to be by your side this time, El." He touched their foreheads and noses together, rubbing them together twice. "I want to be by your side through everything." He fixated his eyes on hers to read her reaction, unblinking.

When she fluttered her eyelashes against his slowly, he felt his world complete, and he silently thanked her, and himself, for the way they learned to communicate their love through touch alone.

#mileven #mileven fic #mileven fanfic #mike x el #mike x eleven #el x mike #eleven x mike #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #mileven fanfiction #mi escrito

[kl125]

I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for a bit, so I thought, in honor of the mileven we saw today, I might as well post it! Let me know what y’all think!

#my post #stranger things #mileven #mike wheeler #el hopper #fanfic #eleven #mileven fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #my fanfiction

[oatflatwhite]

weird little planetoids

will byers & el hopper siblingism 2: electric boogaloo

2.5k, rated G, read on ao3

Their first day of school Will helped El with the French braids in her hair. They’d been practicing over the summer, with Max when they were still in Hawkins to try and take her mind off Billy. It didn’t always work but they all felt better for the trying. El could do a passable job on her own and Lucas was absolutely hopeless, but Will learned how to keep the braids smooth, no bumps or flyaway strands. Max had turned her head in the mirror when he tried them out on her, this way and that, before her teeth caught in a grin that reached her eyes.

“Jeez, Byers,” she’d said. “And you spent all summer hanging out with those clowns?”

Three weeks later in Lenora, his mom bought El glittery purple elastics from the 7/11 two blocks away from their new place. On the first day of school Will used them to tie El’s braids into place, making sure the ends sat even where they brushed her shoulders. She looked in the mirror over the bathroom sink, touching the place at her temple where the braids pulled her hair back.

“Good?” Will asked, chewing his thumb in the glass behind her and catching himself doing so a second later. He tucked it inside his clenched fist, kneading it under his chin. El smiled and dropped her hand; her nails were neat, painted bright blue. She turned to catch Will’s eye straight-on.

“Bitchin’.”

Jonathan insisted on photos, so they took them arm-in-arm at the bottom of the stairs. Serious then silly; the way they’d always taken Byers family pictures. Jonathan was too busy with his eye pressed to the viewfinder to notice their mom sneaking up behind him and so he jumped, when she grabbed the camera, but let her wrestle it away with only a little fuss. He stood next to El until Joyce waved her hand in front of the lens. “No, Jonathan, go next to Will—no, the other side. Will’s the tallest.”

“Stop growing,” he told Will, as they shuffled into place against the banister.

“Start growing,” Will replied.

“Can we have breakfast now?” El interrupted. Joyce sighed and lowered the camera.

“Please.”

After that it became something like a tradition.

keep reading on ao3

#can't stop won't stop my will el siblings agenda #oatflatwrites #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #stranger things fic #will byers #el hopper #eleven hopper #jane hopper #fanfiction #byler #byler fanfiction #mileven fanfiction #st4

[dxncingwithastrxnger]

remember that night? (Mileven)

A/N: Soooo, this was very impromptu because I heard the song that inspired this and suddenly I couldn't get this whole idea/concept out of my head, so hear you go!!!! Please, this took me forever, I started this at like 6am and it's currently 8:38am, I've been sitting on the kitchen floor for 2 hours typing this out on my phone 💀💀💀 I'll come back to this later in the day and proofread plus add stuff like a moodboard and word count and whatnot!!! Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoy!!!! Lemme know what you think of this one :DDD

Pairing: Mike Wheeler x El Hopper

Summary: El gets an unexpected call from her ex and it leads her into a spiral all over again.

Tags: Angst, that’s pretty much all this is, folks

Word Count: 1,957

Song Inspiration: This is a song fic. All the bold italic lines are song lyrics from a song called remember that night? By Sara Kays :)))

Not beta’d, all mistakes are my own.

×××××××××××××××××××

The day after you said goodbye

El placed her shaking hands flat on the counter, her breathing shallow. She was trying to ground herself, focusing on the cold of the granite, the strange, natural patterns that were in it.

All I did was lay in bed and cry

As she was counting her breaths, somewhere around 37, her phone started ringing again and she flinched, her eyes flying open. Her phone screen was lit up, that dreaded number appearing on it. She knows it's the same number. How could she not? She has it memorized, imprinted in her mind. There's no way she could forget it no matter how much she wants to.

But after one month, I started to move on

El swallowed roughly, staring at the phone screen until her vision of it turned blurry. She blinked rapidly and turned her face away, but as always, she was drawn right to him. Her eyes betrayed her and strayed back to the phone, zoning in on the answer button.

And after two, I felt alright

Before she could even think about her split-second decision, her hand was reaching for the phone. She took a deep breath. Was she really going to do this? A tear involuntarily slipped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away in frustration. She'd gotten this far, and it was clear he was only going to keep calling. This was the third time his number had popped up. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and pressed the little green button as she put the phone to her ear.

Then three months in, you were off my mind

"Hello?" She asks, hoping her voice doesn't sound as unsteady to him as it does to her.

"El, thank goodness. You finally picked up." Mike says, his voice full of both relief and trepidation.

As soon as he speaks, more tears instantly fall down her cheeks and she has to cover her mouth to stifle a gasp that's made its way from her lips.

And month four and five, I was living my life

"...El?" He asks her after her end stays silent for too long, sounding even more uncertain now.

"Y-yeah, I'm here. I-I'm here." El tells him, cursing herself for stuttering.

"Oh, good, good." Mike says, then falls silent.

I was better and didn't have to try

"Sooo... is there a reason you called?" El asks him, a part of her genuinely curious. The rest of her just wants to run away and never speak to him again. Just like she had originally planned. She didn't realize that he would be the one coming back and ruining those plans.

"Oh yeah! Yeah, definitely, um," Mike paused. "Sorry, I guess I just, I don't know... In all honesty, I didn't really have an exact plan for what I would say if you actually picked up the phone." He admitted sheepishly.

El's lips quirk up and she speaks before she can think about her next words. "You never really were one for plans in the first place." She whispers.

"You're totally right." He whispers back, and she can practically see the grin stretching across his face now. It both made her flinch and drew her in closer to her phone. Damn him.

Not to think of you, 'til you reached out

"So," She licked her lips to wet them. "What have you been up to?" She asks him, her voice still low and soft, just right above a whisper.

"N-not much, really. I mean, hanging out with the guys, playing games, school, trying to find a job." He scoffs a little at the end.

El nods, turning her back to the counter and lowering herself to the ground, sitting on the floor cross-legged, her back against the kitchen cupboards. "Sounds fun." She says, trying to make her voice sound light.

And said, "Remember that night?"

"Yeah, I guess." He says. "What about you, though, El?"

El chews on the inside of her lip, her hand balling into a fist on her knee at his constant use of her name. There was nothing wrong with the way he said it, with the way he always seemed like he wanted to say it as much as possible. And that was the problem. Whenever he says her name, his voice goes all gentle and soft, as if just the name itself was this precious thing that had to be handled carefully. Her entire body was shaking by this point.

"I haven't been up to very much either, honestly. Just the same old things. School and home and dance." She tells him honestly. She leaves out the part where she mostly stays at home nowadays in order to avoid seeing him.

We went for a drive, 2:30 in the morning

There was silence for a moment, and right as she was about to ask if he was still there, he suddenly spoke again. "I miss watching you dance." Mike told her truthfully. His voice was uncharacteristically shaky and it gave her pause. Did he mean...? She gritted her teeth. No, she couldn't let herself read too far into it. She couldn't let herself have hope.

She shakes her head at herself. "Yeah, it was always really fun when you were around for practice." She admits.

The air around them was heavier than before, if that was at all possible. Something had changed on Mike's end. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. But it was definitely there.

Suddenly, Mike lets out a little laugh. "Do you remember the first recital of yours that I ever went to?" He asks her, something in his voice that she couldn't read very well.

I kissed you, it was pouring

She couldn't help but share in his amusement a little bit, the memory always making her smile even if it was not tainted beyond repair. "Of course I do. How could I not? It was the one and only time I'd ever tripped in front of a live audience." She says, her cheeks burning with both leftover embarrassment and something else that she didn't want to think about.

He laughs again, this one less hesitant. "You took one look at me and your eyes got so big. And then you tripped and I felt like this big douche for not even telling you I was coming, but then you got back up and carried on as if nothing had happened." Mike pauses, and El hears him let out a slow, shallow breath. "And after that, everytime you managed to lock eyes with me, your eyes would shine even brighter, if that was even possible, and your smile would get impossibly wide. You were grinning as if you were the luckiest person in the world, just cause I showed up to see you dance in front of a whole crowd of people. That's when I knew I'd made the right choice in showing up that night." He told her, his voice dropping back down to a whisper during his entire admission.

We held each other tight before the night was over

El felt like she couldn't breathe. Her chest was tight and her eyes burned and every part of her felt physically numb. Like if she tried to move, she'd just fall over and stay stuck there until her limbs decided to wake back up.

Despite how she felt, clearly at least some parts of her could still function because without her consent, her mouth opened and spoke. "That's because at the time, I felt like I was the luckiest person in the world." She tells him, her voice so quiet that she wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't heard her. "You made me feel that way" was left unspoken.

You looked over your shoulder

Despite what she had hoped, he did hear her. "Did I really?" Mike asked El. His voice was a strange mix of hopeful and confused.

El's brows furrow. Hadn't she told him that so many times before? While they were dating? Why was he so surprised? She asks herself, feeling just as confused as he sounded. "Of course you did. You made me feel incredible." She insists, not being able to stand for him not knowing it, no matter what's happened between them now. How could he not know that?

Oh, I was doing fine

Mike let out a self-deprecating scoff. "I didn't realize you actually meant that." He whispers again, voice now dripping with resentment and frustration. Something told El that it wasn't directed at her, which only made her more concerned.

"Mike," She starts, pausing when she hears a sharp intake of breath on his end. That's when she realizes that this is the first time she had said his name outloud this whole time. She pushes forward and continues, ignoring his reaction. "Are you okay?" She asks sincerely, genuinely wanting to know.

You said, "Remember that night?"

Mike clears his throat louder than necessary. "I-I mean, I'm, I'm o-okay." He stutters out unconvincingly.

El's lips turn down further. "No, Mike, you're not." She says softly.

"No, El, seriously, I'm fine." He insists, managing not to stutter through his lie this time. "You don't have to worry about me at all."

"Remember that night?"

"Do you promise?" She questions, testing him. Both of them know the significance of a promise. Especially to each other. At least, they both did when they were still together. She could only hope that it still held that same importance for him.

He stayed silent and this time she just waited. Waited to see if he would say it or if he would keep their silent, unspoken agreement. Half of her hoped that he would break it just so that she could convince herself that their breakup was the right choice for the both of them. So that she could convince herself that it never would've lasted. The other half of her, the traitorous half, was filled with hope that he wouldn't break it, that he wouldn't let her down, that he was still that same boy she still loved no matter how hard she tried not to.

Oh, I was doing fine

Finally, he spoke up. "E-El, I think I should g-go." He tells her, the tone of his voice not as easy to read as before. "I shouldn't of called anyways."

The tears return to El's eyes again at his words. He's leaving me again. She can't help but think, though she knows it's not quite the same as before.

"O-oh, o-okay." Is all she can manage to get out, her throat burning.

"I'm...sorry for bothering you." He says before he hangs up, her phone beeping to let her know that the call had ended.

You said, "Remember that night?"

She slowly lowers the phone away from her ear and places it on the ground beside her, staring forward blankly as tears start spilling from her eyes. Suddenly, she can't hold it back anymore, and she breaks. A loud, gut-wrenching sob punches it's way from her throat like a cry for help and she falls to the floor on her side, curling up into a ball and holding herself as best as she can.

After a moment, she hears running footsteps, and then her dad and stepmom are entering the kitchen, looking frantic. She doesn't care, doesn't react to their entrance, barely even spares them a glance. She isn't able to even if she wanted to.

"Remember that night?"

The next thing she knows, Joyce is lifting up the top half of her body and pulling El halfway into her lap, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace, running her hands through El's hair and pressing kisses to the crown of her head.

El latches onto Joyce's arms like they're her lifeline, and maybe they are. She sobs and cries and whimpers, at some point feeling a gentle hand on her ankle that she assumes is her father's. She lets it all out as Joyce tries her best to convince her that it'll all be okay. El hopes that she's right.

×××××××××××××××××××

A/N: What do y'all think of this one??? Do we like the song fics or nah?? 👀 Lemme know, please!!! If you guys want me to, I can make a part 2 and maybe even write this part again but from Mike's pov!!!! Lemme know which you want or if you want both, pretty please!!!! It'll be greatly appreciated!!!!! Hope you're having an amazing day/night!!!!! 💜💜💜

#purple_strxnger #stranger things #mileven #mike wheeler #el hopper #eleven #el x mike #eleven x mike #eleven x mike wheeler #el hopper x mike wheeler #mike x el #mike x eleven #mike wheeler x eleven #mike wheeler x el hopper #mileven angst #mileven fic #mileven au #mileven fanfic #mileven fanfiction #song fic #songfic #au #angst #stranger things au #purple_strxnger_stories

[claire-de-lune]

Can someone write a fanfic where El meets Mike’s nana 🥺 and she falls in love with El, and is super happy for Mike for finding such a great girl and match.

#Mileven #Mileven fanfic #Mileven fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things fanficiton

[urdearestmom]

3:15

forgot to post this to tumblr when I posted on ao3, so here it is now! just a lil something :)

It’s dark outside. Like, really dark. His watch reads 2:15 California time, which makes it probably 3:15 in the morning where they are (which he’s not sure of, actually. Somewhere between Wyoming and Nebraska), but there aren’t any stars out. It’s the ominous kind of darkness that comes before a storm. 

Argyle is inside the gas station they’d stopped at ten minutes ago, Jonathan is passed out in the passenger seat, and Will is out cold on the floor. El is staring silently out the window from the other end of the backseat, as she has been virtually since they picked her up. She had only said enough to explain that they need to get to Hawkins as quickly as possible because their friends are in danger. There’s a tension thick between the two of them as long as they’re both awake, but he’s not sure what to do about it. El doesn’t exactly seem like she wants to talk to him. 

He regrets leaving things the way they did before El got arrested, only at the same time can’t think of how it could have turned out any differently. He still can’t bring himself to say the words she wants to hear, even at this moment. It feels like his throat is stuffed with cotton if he even tries to imagine saying it. Still, Mike feels like he should say something. He knows things have happened to her in the few days since he last saw her; she’s wearing the same clothes but her head is shaved again and she has her powers back. It’s just like the night they met, except it isn’t at all. 

“El,” he starts, entirely on impulse. He hasn’t given a single thought to what he might say. 

“I’m tired, Mike,” she replies, turning further toward the window and tucking her legs underneath her. 

Mike almost swallows his tongue. “Okay. Sorry.” He crosses his arms to keep his hands from fidgeting nervously, turning to look out his own window.  

They stew in silence, Mike thinking over what he wants to say to El, until Argyle returns and drives the van to some empty space behind the gas station. 

“Just gonna rest here for a few hours and then keep going, alright man?” He tells them, settling in to sleep in his seat just like Jonathan. 

Mike responds with a barely audible, “Yeah,” while El remains fixated on the darkness outside. After about ten minutes, Argyle starts to snore lightly. Mike looks over at El again, sighing because he can tell she’s not asleep. Everyone else is though, so at least they’re afforded a little bit of privacy. They won’t have much of that when they reach whatever’s waiting for them back home. 

“El,” he tries again, quietly. “Can I talk to you?” 

She doesn’t answer.

Mike’s eyebrows furrow. “I know you’re awake.”

Nothing changes, until El slowly turns around and fixes him with a stare. He can barely see her, but he feels its intensity.

“What do you want?” 

He shifts in his seat, tucking his hands under his thighs. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. For how I acted at the rink and for not saying-” 

“I don’t want your apology,” El says stonily, jerking her head back to the window. 

“Fine, then, I’ll stop apologizing,” Mike replies, and pauses. This isn’t starting how he hoped it might. “But will you listen to me? Please?”

She doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then: “Yes.” 

He slides closer. “About our fight,” he begins. “I didn’t explain myself properly, and then the cops showed up and shit hit the fan and we didn’t finish that conversation.”

El stays silent, still facing away, and he continues. 

“You know that I have feelings for you. I don’t think that was ever much of a secret,” he says, and almost laughs a little. It really wasn’t; Lucas had mocked Mike proposing to El like two days after they met her. “I told you last year that it’s… it’s crazy, and I’ve never felt like this about someone before. Being away from you- is so hard.” 

He has to pause again to gather his thoughts, and El turns her head back toward him. Her face is expressionless, but she seems receptive. 

Mike swallows. “I didn’t know that those words were so important to you, okay? I never meant to hurt you. I just have a hard time saying it, it doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.” 

He reaches out for her shoulder, looking into her eyes. “It doesn’t mean I don’t feel it, El,” he repeats. “I care about you so much it’s insane, and I don’t know why I can’t say it! I don’t know if it’s because my family never says it and it’s weird in my head, or if I’m just awkward or something. Sometimes I think that word isn’t even enough to describe what I feel.” 

El is starting to look sad and Mike is starting to feel desperate. “Maybe it’s because if I say it, it’ll be real,” he continues. “And it’ll be so much worse if you get taken away from me again. I’m scared because- I can’t deal with that anymore.” 

“You won’t lose me,” El says quietly.

“We don’t know that,” Mike answers. “Spring Break was just supposed to be fun and look what happened.” 

El shrinks back and Mike almost smacks himself. He doesn’t even know the half of what happened yet, but it was obviously bad.

“I got my powers back,” she whispers. “I can be a superhero again.” 

He sighs. “Look, I don’t know what happened with Owens or what you had to do, but it doesn’t matter. I told you the other day, El, you are the most incredible person in the world to me. Whether you have powers or not, it doesn’t change how I feel about you, okay? I want you to remember that.” 

“Okay.”

“I just…” He trails off. “I try to say it in other ways. I gave you that ring,” he says, reaching for her hand where she’s still wearing it. That’s something at least. “I told you what it means. I picked you flowers from Hawkins because I knew you missed them and you’d like them. I write you so many letters because I’m always thinking about you and wishing you were with me. I guess… I thought that was enough. I’m sorry it wasn’t.” 

El squeezes his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand.” 

Mike quickly shakes his head. “No, that’s not your fault. I’m bad at talking about things. I should have explained myself better.” 

The two of them have slid closer to each other the longer the conversation has gone on, now sitting pressed together. 

“I love you,” El says suddenly, holding his hand tightly and leaning in to lay her head on his shoulder. 

He lays his head against hers. “I know. And I do too, so much. Just… be patient with me?” 

He feels El nod against him. “I will.” 

A few minutes of silence later, Mike thinks El has fallen asleep. He will soon. 

But then she speaks again. “Am I still pretty?” 

Mike sits up. “What? Why?” 

El faces him, her voice meek. “My hair is gone.” 

“El,” he sighs, almost exasperated. “Of course you’re still pretty. Whether you have hair or not doesn’t change the fact that you’re beautiful. Don’t tell me you forgot that you looked exactly like this the first time I kissed you.” 

She doesn’t say anything to that, just lays her head back down, so Mike continues to try to lighten up the mood. 

“Man, I embarrassed myself with that one,” he tells her. “I still cringe a little if I think about it for too long. Did you even know what I was doing?” 

“No,” El replies. He can hear the smile in her voice. “But I liked it.” 

Mike smiles in return, though El can’t see it. “Me too.” 

She squeezes his hand again. “Night, Mike.” 

He squeezes back. “Night, El.”

#mileven #mileven fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #mike wheeler #el hopper #eleven #stranger things #urdearestmom

[mike-el]

#milevenweek 2022 ↳ day three: alternate universe

summary: "Her countenance was that of someone unwavering in her conviction, but her eyes gleamed. She looked as only El could: destructive and vulnerable all at once." / Mike attempts to help El escape from the lab, but she requires some convincing. Alternative ending to Season 4.

a/n: happy third day of mileven week! I wrote this ficlet immediately following the release of the st4 trailer, but never posted it (tumblr and I were in an "off again" period at the time). I thought it fit today's theme. I hope you enjoy!

#milevenweek #mileven #mileven fic #mileven fanfiction #mike x el #userkaisa #userkate #elsmike #formerlyjannafaye #fatechica #mike x eleven #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic #mike wheeler #el hopper #*fic #I don't really do au lol this is the best I could come up with <3 #OTP: and every day since #stranger things

[elisa-011]

Here's a (very sad) Mileven fanifc I originally posted on AO3. I thought I'd post it here too. I apologise in advance.

I have no regrets

Mike Wheeler was actually a fun-loving young man, at least when his friends and his girlfriend, the most beautiful telekinetic girl in the world, El, were around him. However, when he was alone, he often lapsed into hours of thinking, brooding, silence. He had experienced so much crap in his young life that it was sometimes hard to cope with the whole load. So he would often sit for hours down in his basement, at the little square table where he and his friends so often played "Dungeons and Dragons" in childhood days, and contemplate. Or pondering new campaigns he could write as Dungeon Master. It was an escape valve to let out his accumulated experiences from the past, experiences he couldn't share with anyone else except his close friends and his girlfriend. So he packed it all into his campaigns, which he wrote with heart and passion, and if anyone not involved in the paranormal events were to read his notes, which he wrote down in a small scrapbook, they would merely marvel at this young man's rampant imagination. But these days the notebook rested on the table, beginning to gather dust, and when Mike sat at the little table, his cheeks wet with tears, absorbed in his thoughts, angry, sad at his fate, he sometimes stroked the cover of the little notebook with his long fingers, yearning for the old days when he might have to fight interdimensional monsters but not have to deal with something like this.

He received the diagnosis three months earlier. Pancreatic head carcinoma. At his age. The absolute 5-year survival rate was 8%, he was told. Mike's world completely fell apart, his mother became depressed, his father acted coldly towards him because he didn't know how to deal with his only son's illness. His sisters couldn't believe it and were devastated. And Mike? He began to mope, became depressed himself, struggled with himself and his life. El had broken down when she learned of her beloved Mike's diagnosis and Hopper and Joyce could not for the life of them calm her down. She was on the floor, screaming, crying, kicking, not wanting to be calmed, covering her ears as she screamed, screamed about how unfair life is, how unfair it is that it had to hit her beloved Mike of all people. Mike himself was the one who managed to calm her down, he whose world had just been turned upside down with this diagnosis. But he was always the one who managed to get through to El, no matter how bad the nightmares, the flashbacks or even the current events were, even when he actually felt like breaking down himself. He did. He broke down. Mike sank to the floor with her, a trembling, sobbing heap of misery, and the two of them wrapped themselves in each other's embrace, holding on tightly because otherwise they would fall apart. They held each other tightly, exchanging desperate kisses and touches, screaming and crying. In the evening, they collapsed together on Mike's bed and fell into an absolutely restless sleep, which gave them nightmares that made them wake up in a cold sweat at night.

Mike had to start high-dose chemotherapy immediately, which used up almost the entire Wheelers' budget and ultimately brought nothing but leaden fatigue, hair loss and constant nausea. Mike had never thrown up so much in his entire life as he did at this time. It was absolutely horrendous. He had to swallow about thirty-five pills every day, morning, noon, night. He lost a lot of weight, became pale, paler than usual, there were dark shadows under his eyes, his hair began to fall out. Whenever El stroked her hand through his otherwise full and fluffy hair, something she loved so much, she had bunches in her fingers afterwards. Each time she burst into tears and it was up to Mike to cheer her up. "Hey, let's look on the bright side," he said then, "this way I don't have to use so much shampoo and I can be a bit kinder to the environment." El slapped him gently on his forearm and, sobbing, she brought out, "M-mouthbreather..." Mike grinned at her, took her in his arms, and covered her, his precious El, with countless kisses.

One afternoon they shaved off his hair together with his father's clippers. El had refused at first, crying and sobbing, but Mike explained that he was tired of waking up every morning to find a huge bunch of his hair on the pillow. Reluctantly, El had finally agreed and, in tears, shaved off his hair. Mike sat, a towel over his shoulders, in front of the mirror in the basement bathroom and watched his hair trickle off his head. With each tuft, his heart sank a little more. It hurt, but it was better that way. Afterwards, El put one hand over her mouth, looked at Mike out of watery eyes, and carefully, oh so carefully, reached out her other hand to place it on his bald head. Mike closed his eyes as her hand touched his scalp and let the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes flow. El sat down on his lap, took his head in her hands and breathed countless kisses on his now bald skull. "I love you, I love you so much," she whispered as sobs and hiccups wracked her body. Mike wrapped his arms around El and held her close, inhaling her scent. "I love you even more, El," he breathed back.

El was always there when he had to go to chemotherapy, held his hand, wiped away his tears when he couldn't hold them back, helped him when he threw up. She loved him so much after all. But Mike was not getting better, on the contrary. He was rapidly deteriorating, developing severe pains. At a check-up last week in the oncology department, Mike had been given bad news. Chemotherapy had not been able to stop the cancer, and an imaging scan had found metastases in the lungs and bones. Karen and Ted, who were accompanying their son, couldn't believe it, Karen collapsed and Ted had to catch her before she could hit the floor. Mike sat there, in front of the oncologist's table, staring at the computer scan of his body and the white spots that could be seen in his lungs and bones, feeling as if he was in a tunnel. Far away, he perceived the oncologist's voice. "We have the option of palliative chemotherapy coupled with effective pain management, Mr Wheeler." Absentmindedly, Mike nodded, unable to do more. There was a roaring in his ears and his thoughts wandered to his family, to his two sisters, to El, with whom he still wanted to experience so much. Boiling hot tears were now making their way down his cheeks and he heard himself asking, "How long do I have?" The oncologist's face contorted and his eyes grew sad. "Maybe a few weeks." Karen started sobbing uncontrollably, Ted talked calmly to her, trying his best to reassure her. Mike lowered his gaze into his lap and nodded as his vision blurred. Tears fell on his hands resting in his lap. Was he ready to let go? The stages of grief he had been going through since his diagnosis kept alternating, merging, sometimes overlapping. Denial After his diagnosis, Mike did not want to admit that something like this was happening to him, he denied his illness, could not come to terms with it. He was shocked, fell into a kind of rigidity, was numb. Anger Then anger took the place of shock. He was angry, at whom, he didn't know himself, but he wondered why it had to be him to whom something like this happened. He was just angry and it was hard for those who loved him to get through to him when he was in one of his moods again. Negotiation At this stage Mike tried to negotiate with himself, with the doctors, even with God. He was not ready to give up his life, wanted to somehow manage to get more time. Now, sitting here, opposite his oncologist, who had just told him that he probably only had a few weeks to live, a wave of depression suddenly burst over him, stronger and more powerful than anything that had gone before. He slumped down and began to cry terribly. He still wanted to experience so much, he wanted to graduate from college together with El and his best friends, he wanted to study, he wanted to start a family with El, marry her. All this now trickled through his fingers like fine sand and his heart began to shatter into a thousand little pieces in his chest.

When El learned that there was no chance of recovery for Mike, she felt so sick that she threw up violently on the spot and then she indeed fainted. Hopper and Joyce just couldn't believe how badly life was playing out for their daughter. She had traded the traumatic childhood she had escaped for a beautiful adolescence, with the love of her life by her side, and now that was going to be taken away from her too? For the next while, Mike and El were practically tied together at the hip, spending every spare minute together, always aware of the painful fact that it might be the last day. They lay in her bed, or in his, or in their old blanket fort in Mike's basement, which was El's first real home, wrapped in each other's loving embrace.

But Mike was getting weaker and weaker and soon it was barely possible for him to climb the stairs that led down to the basement or up to his room. At some point, his father, with Hopper's help, moved his large bed from his room on the first floor to the living room so that he no longer had to climb stairs. He was grateful to them. He could no longer walk long distances, had to take constant breaks. He would prefer to sleep all day, the fatigue that gnawed at him was leaden. Anything was fine with El as long as she could be with Mike, even if it meant lying in his bed in the Wheelers' living room.

Palliative chemotherapy, combined with proper pain and nausea management, gave Mike at least some relief and quality of life. It was carried out in the mornings as an outpatient treatment, so that Mike could still get something out of the day afterwards. He had to swallow about twenty pills every day, but he was happy to put up with that, because the pain caused by the metastases and the progressive illness was immense. The medication at least eased his pain and the nausea somewhat. El paused college to spend as much time as possible with Mike. Hopper was against it at first, but when El stood in front of him, in tears, sobbing unrestrainedly that she didn't know when Mike would be out of her life forever, his heart broke for good and he agreed. From then on, El practically lived with the Wheelers. She helped Karen as much as she could around the house, taking over the support Mike needed for the things he could no longer do himself. In the afternoons, the two of them usually went for a short walk to get some fresh air, even if it wasn't a long distance. Still, the physical activity did them good. Mike put on a cap so that it wouldn't be immediately obvious that he was deathly ill, but most of the neighbourhood knew what was going on anyway. But the last thing he wanted was pity. Fingers intertwined, he and El walked slowly down the street until they turned back at the corner up ahead because Mike was too exhausted to go any further. El almost went crazy, because watching Mike deteriorate more and more hurt so much that sometimes she thought her heart would seriously shatter in her chest. She loved him so much. No matter how sick he was. No matter how weak he was, whether he had hair or not, to her he was the absolute most beautiful young man on the planet. She would always love him, she knew that. She didn't allow herself to think about what would happen if one day he was really gone. If she allowed that thought to sprout up inside her, she risked suffocating.

One night, as Mike and El lay in his bed in the Wheelers' living room, snuggled close together, but sleep just wouldn't come over them, she asked into the darkness, "If you had the chance to live your life over again, would you do anything differently?" "No... absolutely not..." El lifted her head, which was resting on Mike's chest, and looked at him, even though she could see almost nothing because of the darkness. Mike met her gaze. "I'd do everything the same way. I'd ask Will to be my friend in kindergarten, I'd befriend Lucas in elementary school, then Dustin. I'd find you in the woods when I am twelve, and, God, I'd take you back home with me, build you a shelter in the form of a blanket fort so you'd learn what safety and love are..." Tears welled up in El's eyes. "Oh, Mike..." "I love you so much El, I want you to know that. I'm so grateful that you came into my life. You made me a better person. I was a dick sometimes, was rude to Max then, didn't want her in our group, I was horrible to Will, Lucas and Dustin sometimes too. But you were the little splash of colour that was missing to make my life colourful El, you showed me what it meant to love..." El started to cry now and let her forehead sink back onto Mike's chest. "You first showed me what love even is, Mike... I love you... I love you so much, and I'm so scared of the day you-" Mike silenced her by tenderly placing his hands against her cheeks, bringing her face to him and kissing her deeply. El fell instantly silent, closed her eyes and returned the kiss by half opening her mouth and their lips moving together. "I love you... so much," Mike breathed, not releasing his lips from El's. He pulled her on himself so that she was half on top of him and kissed her as his hands trailed along her body. El shuddered under his touch and cupped his face with her hands, tilting her head a little so they could deepen their needy kisses. She propped her legs up on the right and left of his body so that she wasn't resting her full weight on him, and Mike began to trace her jawline with his lips, then her neck and earlobe, which he nibbled lightly as he pressed her to him with one arm. A pleasant shiver ran down El's spine and she let out a soft moan, which sounded like music to Mike's ears. The two looked into each other's eyes for a long time in the darkness, ebony and honey, before slipping out of their clothes, El helping Mike out of his shirt, and then they gave themselves to each other, making love under the cover of the night and the fact that everyone else in the house was fast asleep. They tried hard to be quiet and took it slow so Mike wouldn't overexert himself. It may not have been as passionate as usual, but still so so beautiful and precious, this moment belonged to just the two of them, leaning their foreheads against each other, breathing the same air, heartbeats in sync, holding each other close. Later, when they were lying next to each other breathing heavily, El had rested her head on Mike's chest and was drawing circles on his skin with her index finger, Mike held El as close to him as he could for fear she might disappear. Yet it was he who was disappearing... Eventually Mike fell asleep, visibly exhausted and tired, while El lay awake for a while longer, crying silent tears on his chest.

When Mike woke up in the morning about two weeks later, he noticed that something had changed. He couldn't explain what, but he felt very different. El, who had just come in to the living room with a tray in her hands to eat breakfast in bed with him, as she did almost every morning, noticed that Mike was different. He looked even sicker than usual, his eyes were sunken, he was terribly pale and thin. She swallowed hard against the lump of unshed tears forming in her throat and went to join him. She set the tray down on the bedside table the Wheelers had placed next to the bed, where Mike's medication was stored, and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his eyes fixed in the distance, not looking at her. "Mike..." El reached for his hand. He didn't pull it away, but he still wasn't looking at her. "Mike..." Her voice didn't get any louder, but it did get a little more desperate. At last he turned his head in her direction, his face contorting in pain. "Can you... can you please give me my pills, El?" he asked her quietly, in a voice that sounded unlike his. El nodded and reached for the pill dispenser on the bedside table. She handed it to Mike and gave him a glass of water. He swallowed his morning medication and then handed the glass and dispenser back to El. "Mike, what's wrong?" asked El in a low voice, reaching for his hand again. Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I... I don't know, El... I have a feeling... a feeling that..." He closed his long fingers around El's and now looked her straight in the eye. "Can you call your father and ask if he can... if he can do me one last favour?" El couldn't stop the desperate sob that bubbled up in her throat. "M-Mike..." "Please, El," Mike said softly, "I have more faith in Hopper than I do in my own father..." El nodded and blinked a few times, causing a few tears to run down her cheeks. Mike reached out his hand, trembling, placed it on her cheek and wiped away her tears with his thumb. Breakfast remained untouched on the bedside table.

When Hopper arrived at the Wheelers' half an hour later, he was startled to see Mike like this, but he tried not to let on in front of the boy. Instead, he pulled him into a hug, feeling like Mike was going to fall apart at any moment. "Chief," Mike greeted him and forced a weak smile. "Wheeler," Hopper replied in a choked voice. "I was thinking maybe you could take El and me... well, out to this lake I discovered once, you know, the beautiful little one, with the clear water, in the middle of the woods..." Hopper looked at him and tilted his head. Mike looked around to see if El was around, but she was in the kitchen with Karen. "I'd go myself, on a bike, like I used to," he spoke, shrugging his shoulders and gesturing down at himself, "but you can see for yourself what I look like. I don't think I'll be able to do that any more." Hopper's heart broke for the Wheeler boy. "Besides," Mike added quietly, his head lowered, "I have a feeling that today, I don't know, this day will be my last..." Hopper inhaled sharply and leaned a little towards Mike as he put his hand on his skinny shoulder. "Hey, kid, don't say that." Mike raised his head and looked Hopper straight in the eye. Hopper swallowed audibly. The boy was serious. His eyes were kind of dull, empty. "Okay," Hopper replied quietly, having to bite his tongue, "I'll drive you to the lake." Mike's expression brightened a little. "Thanks, Chief."

Mike said goodbye to his parents and sisters in tears, and no one understood why. He just wanted to go to the lake with El to have a nice day, didn't he? Holly, however, seemed to sense something. She clung to her big brother like a monkey and wouldn't let him go. "Mikey... don't go, please don't go." Mike had to avert his gaze to hide how distraught he was, but he finally managed to pull away from his little sister. Karen and Ted didn't understand the world anymore as Mike and El joined Hopper in the Chevrolet Blazer and drove off. They stood in the doorway with Holly, who was crying and raving. Nancy, on the other hand, had retreated to the living room and was now sitting on her brother's bed as she buried her face in her palms and cried softly.

The weather was kind to them and the sun was shining from the sky when they arrived at the woods after Mike had told Hop where to go. Hopper had driven as far as he could into the woods so Mike wouldn't have to walk too far, but eventually he couldn't get any further in his big blazer. El shouldered the backpack she had packed and got out of the car. Then she helped Mike out of the car and supported him. "I'll stick around," Hopper said tonelessly. "In case you... need me." Mike nodded gratefully and then he and El made their way to their little lake. It was still as beautiful as they remembered. A little jewel in the middle of a small clearing. Its water was as clear and pure as a diamond. How often they had been here in the summer holidays, just the two of them, and lain on the shore, gone swimming or had a picnic. All these beautiful memories suddenly flooded Mike and his heart became heavy in his chest. He was so weak that he could hardly walk and El had to support him the whole way. When they arrived at the shore, Mike immediately let himself sink into the warm grass. It was soft against his skin. El unpacked a blanket from her backpack, the large picnic blanket that was white and red checkered and on which they had already had numerous picnics. She spread it out gently on the grass and then helped Mike to lie down on it. She lay down with him, looked him in the eye and stroked his bald head. "Would you like to put your hat on?" Mike nodded and El rummaged in his backpack for Mike's cap. When she found it, she lowered herself back down beside him and put his cap on. They lay like that for a while, faces turned to each other, looking into each other's eyes. El had a hand on his cheek, gently stroking the many freckles that adorned his cheekbones and nose like constellations of the sky and that she loved so much. They were perfect, just like him. Mike's lips curled into a small smile when he saw the dreamy look in her eyes. "What are you thinking about, El?" "About how I love you and your freckles are the absolute most beautiful thing in this world, next to your eyes." She gave him a smile that revealed her dimples and Mike melted. Then she slid a little closer to him and kissed him on the forehead, then on the nose. Mike let his eyes fall shut and enjoyed her closeness. When El's lips found his, he placed a hand on her cheek and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. They kissed long and intimately and when they broke away, Mike breathed, "I love you." "I love you, Mike Wheeler," El replied in a choked voice. Then she carefully laid her head in the crook of his neck, for it would hurt him too much on his chest, and Mike wrapped his arm around her and held her close. So they lay there, just wrapped in each other's embrace, letting time pass. Eventually they fell asleep, but not before El had neatly adjusted Mike's cap on his head so he wouldn't get sunburnt. The soft sounds of the forest and the lake around them lulled them and let them drift off to sleep.

El was jolted out of sleep by a coughing fit that overtook Mike in his sleep. She immediately sat upright and watched from frightened eyes as Mike's body began to twitch before he coughed violently and almost choked. He gasped once, opened his eyes, sat upright and put his hands over his mouth as the next coughing fit came over him. When he lowered his hands, there was blood in his palms. He tried to hide it, wanted to fumble in his trousers for a handkerchief, but El had seen it. She put her hands to her mouth and tears gathered in her eyes. Mike found a handkerchief and looked away, ashamed. "Oh, Mike..." "It's okay, El," Mike croaked, letting the handkerchief disappear back into his pocket. "What do you say we take our shoes off, and go in the water for a bit?" El seemed to consider. "I don't want you to catch cold, your immune system isn't the best..." Mike waved it off. "That's the least of our worries, El..." El suppressed a sob and was about to retort something, but Mike was already starting to take off his shoes. When they had both taken off their shoes, El helped Mike to his feet. She supported him as they slowly stepped onto the shore of the small lake. The lake lay there, glistening in the midday sun and just beautiful to look at. The rays of light from the sun hitting the lake through the surrounding treetops bathed the entire clearing in a beautiful, almost mysterious light. Mike intertwined his fingers with El's and the two of them carefully stepped into the clear water. As the water cascaded around their ankles, he squeezed her hand once and took a deep breath. "Oh, quite cold." El rolled her eyes playfully. "I told you. It's March." Mike grinned at her and went a little further in as he gently pulled El with him. "Okay, Mike, but no further, yeah?", El brought out, turning to face him. Mike nodded and wrapped his arms around El's delicate form. They gazed at the surface of the water, lost in thought. "Why are we here, Mike?" asked El at one point, not daring to look at Mike. Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Because this place brings back so many beautiful memories for me, memories I shared with you. I wanted to add one more memory before... before I-" "Mike, please stop..." "No, El... I have a feeling that this day here today... that it will be the last." If it hadn't been for El supporting Mike, she would have collapsed. She slumped her shoulders and began to sob bitterly. "N-no, this is not your last day, stop it Mike!" Mike sighed sadly and slumped his shoulders too. He could feel his strength fading. "Shall we head back to shore, El? I think I need to lie down." El nodded and through tears she brought Mike back to the picnic blanket where he lay down. El sat down cross-legged, resting her elbows on her knees, her face in her palms, and couldn't stop crying. Mike slid a little closer to her and rested his head in her lap. He looked up to her from tired eyes and El returned his gaze after wiping away her never-ending tears. Suddenly she understood that Mike meant it. His eyes were tired, heavy. He just looked terribly ill and exhausted. El's lower lip trembled and she carefully brought her hands to his cheeks. They looked into each other's eyes. "I love you so much," Mike brought out with difficulty and lifted his hand to bury it in her hair. "I-I love you too, Mike," El sobbed. "You know, I've realised one thing," Mike said softly, "I can't change anything now, and it's okay. Fate has decided for me. I didn't want to admit it at first, but what am I going to waste my precious energy fighting something I don't stand a chance against anyway..." A new wave of tears ran down El's cheeks, gathering at her chin and falling into Mike's face. "I wanted to come here to make one last good memory with the woman I've loved since I was fucking twelve years old." Mike chuckles softly to himself. "My God, six years we've been together, El... And I love you like the first day." El took off his cap, stroked his bald head and leaned down to kiss the tip of his nose. Mike continued, "I don't regret anything El, absolutely nothing. I would do it all over again just the same. I would love you no matter what life. And if this one is meant to end now, then... then that's okay too..." He closed his eyes and lowered the hand that was in El's hair. He was so exhausted. But he was in the lap of his beloved El, that was all that mattered. "I... love you..." His voice was weak, so weak. Suddenly even speaking hurt him. He took a deep, shaky breath, opened his eyes to look into her honey-coloured eyes once more. He tried to memorise every detail of her beautiful face. "I want you to know." "I know it, Mike," El whispered in a choked voice that was several pitches too high. "And I love you." "Good," he replied, his eyes falling shut again, "then I'm reassured..." He suddenly felt free. His pain was beginning to subside. Finally. After all this time of terrible pain, this felt like a release. He took a few deep breaths and began to let go. He simply had no more strength. When he had let go of everything that held him on earth, his parents, his sisters, his friends, he had to let go of the part that meant the most to him. El... His beloved El... It took a while and cost him all the willpower he had left, but then he let go of her too.

El sat on the picnic blanket, Mike's head in her lap, as he took his last breath. A tear ran down his temple from the corner of his left eye as he exhaled for the last time. El sobbed bitterly, crying and screaming as she laid her head back on her neck. Her scream was so bloodcurdling that the smooth surface of the lake made waves. She desperately caressed Mike's cheeks, speaking to him, but he stopped responding. "Mike... Please... Please don't do this to me... Please don't! PLEASE DON'T!" Her tears, coming out of her eyes like torrents, dripped onto Mike's face. El couldn't take it, she was close to a breakdown, she was trembling and her body was wracked from her sobs and hiccups. "DAAAAAAAD! HEEEEEELP!!!" The last thing she saw before she fainted was Hopper running across the clearing towards them.

#stranger things #stranger things tv #stranger things edit #mileven #mileven edit #mileven fanfiction #eleven #mike wheeler

[truessences]

I think I’m going to write a fic of that moment when Max and Mike wake up in S3 and find El gone… I literally had to cut a part from the most recently chapter of my “One More Light” fic because it didn’t fit but I was subconsciously elaborating lol. If you read the chapter you know the part lol

I also low key wanna do a Nancy and Mike one but haven’t decided.

As well as a Mike and Lucas heart to heart. Or maybe even a heart to heart with the original four boys.

Still trying to figure out another post S4 fic with Eddie lol. 😭

🤔

Not me having fanfiction ideas when it’s been years since I actually wrote one and all the new ones have been ST ones lol

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #mileven #mike wheeler x el hopper #Mike Wheeler #El Hopper #Lucas Sinclair #Max Mayfield #Eddie Munson #Nancy Wheeler #dustin henderson #will byers #mileven fanfiction #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #writing

[hawkinscabin]

it’s the spring of 1986. mike enters eleven’s room & sees that she hoards polaroids of him. mike takes johnathan’s camera & snaps shots of el. with a full heart, mike can now fly back home with new snapshots of the girl he cares for so much. he adds them on his night stand with a beaming smile.

#mileven #mike wheeler #eleven #stranger things #stranger things 4 #fillie #mileven fanfiction

[flamingfalcon3]

Oh yeah I forgot to advertise it on here but I’m writing a mileven paramedic au fanfic and I’m really proud of it so far. Give it a read of you’re interested!

#mileven #mileven fanfiction #mike and eleven #mileven au #mike wheeler #eleven hopper #el hopper #jane hopper #mike x eleven #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction

[fairytaehl]

she stole his shirt, he fell in love

Decided to upload one of my Mileven fanfics here off of ao3 (WubADubDub) just for exposure sake. If people like it then I'll consider posting the others on here.

Summary: The Hellfire shirt. He had gushed about it in his letters, how Eddie pitched the idea right before Halloween and when he made the order in late November. At the airport he told her they were given to the members by him as a Christmas gift, and he didn't wear it then, he was saving it for the first day back. But he had mentioned he tried it on right before she came. Which meant he was still lingering on the fabric.

Alternatively, Eleven wears Mike's Hellfire tee.

Rays of blue and white with faint hints of orange and yellow hitting the brunette's face in the early hours of the morning caused her to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times as they adjusted to the light, followed by her fists coming up to rub the drowsiness away as she stretched her legs. When she extended her arms, lids squeezed shut, she felt herself tap the body beside her.

Eyebrows raised up high, she landed her eyes on the boy beside her. He was looking at her from the soft nudge, one side of his mouth curling up in a grin. Absent-mindedly, she softly smiled back, fixated on him.

"Goodmorning," he said, his voice clear of grogginess, meaning he had been up for some time already.

Eleven gave a nod of her head unconsciously. "Good... morning," she replied quietly.

Unable to help herself, she was taking in all of his features. He was holding a book about Albert Einstein, someone he explained briefly to her before, in his hands, one of the gifts he received from his family yesterday for the holiday. How he was able to take in all of that complicated information when the sun was barely up in the sky was beyond her.

But it was something she loved so much about him. She loved how he was so studious, so intelligent but humble about it, still carefree and dorky, yet able to be serious and clearheaded. Posing himself as nonchalant, distant and cool, when underneath it all he was a bit shy, really nerdy and at times, emotional. All of it she loved. And even if the days grew twice the size, it still wouldn't be enough time for her to wax poetic about the way she considered his every trait.

His hair was getting longer, too. She thought maybe he was letting it grow out because Eleven played with it and was consistently running her fingers through the strands. His freckles looked barely visible against his already pale skin, unexposed to any summer sun during these cold months. His eyes looked gorgeous, she could get lost in them forever (a phrase she adopted from hearing girls in her school say it.)

A hand waved once over her face, stirring her out of her enchanted state of mind.

"Hello? Earth to El? Did you hear me?" Mike asked, a chuckle slipping between his lips, surely knowing what was going on in that head of hers. She wondered if he had ever done this, too.

(He did. He even did it that morning, when he had woken up before her. For over twenty minutes he was unable to pull himself away from drinking up all of her sleeping beauty, mulling over how he felt so plain in comparison to her excellence. Booksmarts be damned, his girlfriend had the bravery, selflessness and compassion that he could only dream of having half of. She was the embodiment of what it means to love.)

Eleven shook her head, still in a daze, a sheepish smile on her face. Mike leaned down to kiss her gently, and she could feel his smile against hers. When he pulled away, touching their foreheads and leaving barely any space between them, he stared at her eyes, and she matched him, the insides of her stomach doing cartwheels.

"I asked if you slept okay," he explained in a whisper, using one hand to cup her cheek, something she only let him do in their most tender of moments, and the other to place the book face down.

For the second time in a short span, she raised her eyebrows, nodding intently and biting her bottom lip, leaning into his touch. Her hands were grasping at the sweats ( his sweats) beneath the blanket, heart throbbing from how he eyed her, as if reading her very soul.

Mike let out another laugh, and twisted his body slightly so he could be more comfortable as he went in to kiss her again, planting his hands over hers. He lifted them up to his neck, then dropped his, this time pressing them against her thighs to hold himself steady.

Without hesitation, Eleven began to dishevel his hair, finding comfort in how her digits got lost in those dark curls. She bent her knees to bring her calves closer and beneath her, turning so she was completely facing him.

It was chaste, it was simple, but it was them, and it was bliss.

They had plans, of course, they were always going to have a schedule when visiting one another, but El was more than content to stay in his room and just kiss, kiss, kiss. No matter what all their friends and family thought, she was happy passing time learning how gentle he could be, kissing her with care, kissing her with tenderness. She felt engulfed in his every move.

She was attached to him, she was well aware of this. Maybe a little more than was healthy, based on others' reactions, but how could she not love the guy who took her in, never questioned or pressured her, did his best to understand her and make her feel like a regular person? She was going to let herself stay this way. She felt like how when sap dripped down a tree, it would stay connected to the bark, despite every new part or rough edge it came across. Nobody was perfect, people said, but being imperfect is what made him perfect for her. It wasn't as if she hadn't had problems of her own.

"Michael!" Karen screeched suddenly. Eleven didn't think she was yelling for him before, but it didn't sound like it was the first time she called.

They broke apart, a look of fear spreading across Mike's features. He pulled away from Eleven, and unfortunately she had to release his soft hair (she had convinced him to start using conditioner in one of their calls after seeing him at Thanksgiving and tutting him for the texture) in this process, releasing an unintentionally loud sigh, earning a look from him to her as he got up, book carelessly falling to the floor. "Hang on, stay right here. I'll see what she wants and guess I'll grab some water for us, okay?" And then he was out his door and down the stairs.

El pouted and sat in the bed for a moment, hands folded above the blanket. Maybe this meant they'd be going out soon, if she was calling him down for breakfast or something.

Ugh.

She kicked off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, puckering her lips a bit before standing up. As she stepped over to her luggage, which she left unpacked there seeing as it wasn't a long stay, she glanced over at his closet.

It was closed, and yet something was drawing her to it. She stepped nearer, curiosity taking over. When she put her hand on the doorknob, she felt a strange wave of caution envelop her. Why did it feel like she was doing something wrong? It was just her boyfriend's clothes, right?

Feeling like she had to, she braced herself. Whatever was behind that door, if she didn't like it, she'd forget she ever saw it. So in a quick motion, she turned the knob and pulled the door.

And what she saw was exactly what one would expect. Clothes.

Letting out a weird sigh of relief, she stared longingly at the multitude of options. She didn't want to entertain what she was worried about; it wasn't there, it didn't matter, Mike still wanted her.

Taking another step forward, into the closet this time, her fingers danced across the garments he was hanging up. Sweaters, dress shirts, jackets and…

A puff of air left her lungs. The Hellfire shirt. He had gushed about it in his letters, how Eddie pitched the idea right before Halloween and when he made the order in late November. At the airport he told her they were given to the members by him as a Christmas gift, and he didn't wear it then, he was saving it for the first day back. But he had mentioned he tried it on right before she came. Which meant he was still lingering on the fabric.

She grabbed the hanger it was upon with such consideration, bringing it towards her so she could get a proper look at it. In her opinion, it was bitchin'.

Although it felt like she was doing something bad, she thought it was harmless. All she would do is put it on, look in the mirror, and take it off and place it right back. That was all. Mike didn't even have to know.

She placed it on the bed and slipped off her shirt, leaving that upon his blanket. She gently took the top off the hanger, and worried her bottom lip between her teeth right before taking the plunge and putting it on.

Nothing happened. The world didn't shift into the Upside Down, no one was there to say anything. She was okay.

Until she wasn't.

"Hey, El," a sigh, "Sorry about that–" came exasperatedly, but stopped short.

Eleven turned to him, surely looking like a deer lost in headlights (another phrase she had heard at school.) He was holding two glasses of water, as he said he would be. He looked stiff, his knuckles turning white from the tightening grip he had on the cups.

Uncontrollably, she started to feel like she was going to cry. Was he mad at her? But she had worn his clothes in the past and never seen a reaction like this. Oh, she was so stupid. He was clear about how personal this was, and to be doing this, well, she was foolish.

She began to play with the hem of the shirt, always needing to toy with something when she got overwhelmed or anxious. Her eyes cast down but then looked back up and then down again. Why wasn't he speaking? Was he that upset?

But she had no idea. No clue that Mike's brain was currently in overdrive, his thoughts running a mile a minute. 

She looked adorable, she was wearing his shirt?, she couldn't be prettier, that was his shirt she was wearing his shirt, he kinda wanted to give it to her, but then he wouldn't be able to wear it enough for her to have his smell on it dumbass, but she looked so cute , it was so big on her.

All of this and more, crossing his mind within the ten seconds of, for her, unbearable silence. 

She couldn't take it, and glanced up at him and opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong. But he was far too quick, reading her body language immediately, as he had spent so much time perfecting doing so.

He placed the glasses on his dresser (a bit roughly, as a little water splashed over the edges), and took the one big step needed to place his hands on her waist and lean himself down to touch his lips to hers.

Shock would've been an understatement, Eleven felt completely floored. If he was upset, he wouldn't kiss her. She didn't see that in the movies, so… maybe he wasn't mad at all?

As soon as it happened, though, he pulled his face back slightly. Dammit, how was his expression still unreadable?! Could he speak already? It was making her feel crazy.

But he felt crazy, too. His stomach was doing flips at how beautiful and precious she looked at the same time. She was wearing his shirt. A shirt that was (sorta) personally for him, a shirt he would be wearing as part of his identity in school, and he knew she knew that. He spoke ceaselessly about it. He couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"If you like it, I'll bring it to California when I come see you again, ya know, a-after I've worn it more," he babbled out, the words leaving his mouth before his brain could register them.

El tilted her head to the side a bit. "So… you're not mad?" She asked in a murmur, holding the bottom of the shirt in soft fists.

Mike scrunched his face in confusion. "What? No! El," a surprised, short laugh, followed by a concerned face, "why would I be mad?"

Now she felt stupid again. She looked down at her feet, shrugging.

But the boy in front of her was determined to not let her shutdown because of this. He used one hand to place a finger under her chin and guide her eyes towards him, the other grabbing her hand.

"El, there's no reason for me to be mad at you. You've done nothing wrong. If, um, anything," he raised an eyebrow and broke eye contact, "it makes me pretty happy seeing you wear this," he admitted, locking eyes again.

Eleven felt a rush of heat throughout her body. Oh. Well, that was a good thing to hear. Really good.

Mike clicked his tongue. "A-and uh, I mean it," he added on, glancing around nervously. "If you want to wear it later, I mean. Y-you can, I don't mind," he offered, his facial expression having gone from confident to shy.

The brunette couldn't help the shameless grin that formed on her face. She used the hand that he was not holding to place it upon his cheek.

"Mike," she began, gazing lovingly at him and capturing his attention, "I'd like that a lot."

Her boyfriend looked as if he was rendered speechless, gaping mouth as he nodded before saying, "Oh, cool, yeah c-cool. I'll bring it. I will. For you."

El's smile got even wider, and she placed a kiss upon his mouth.

Months later, when he would visit her for spring break, the shirt that he wore once a week since that conversation would be right in his suitcase as he flew to California.

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