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allthingsfangirl101 · 9 months

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TOS Chapter 4: Speaking of the Mystery Girl

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A banner was strung across Hopper's kitchen. Joyce and Nancy were setting out refreshments. They were preparing for Max's Welcome Home Party. They were gonna have it at her mom's trailer but the group decided it was better for Max to stay with Hopper and El for a while. Just until she got better (and to help her friends relax).

While everyone else got the house ready, Steve's job was to go pick her up from the hospital.

"Steve," she laughed, "I don't need your help. I can walk."

"Please let me help you, Max," he sighed. "If not for you, then for me."

"Fine," she smirked. She hated to admit it but once she let him help her, the pain lessened. With his arm wrapped around her waist and her head resting over his heart, Steve led Max to his car. He unlocked it and helped her into the front seat.

He jogged around and got into the driver's seat. He started the car but didn't pull out of the parking lot.

"Are you okay?" Max asked.

"There's something I've wanted to say since you got hurt," he said, his voice soft.

"Okay," she shrugged. He turned toward her and studied her. She still had bruises and you could see the bags under her eyes. He sighed as he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Max asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he whispered. Max sighed as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back.

"This wasn't your fault, Steve."

"I know," he said. "But it's my job."

"What do you mean?"

They pulled out of their hug and looked at each other. "I'm the babysitter," Steve shrugged. "My job is to protect you kids. The one time I'm not there, Vecna. . ."

"Steve," she cut him off. "This wasn't your fault."

"I promise," he said, his voice breaking, "this is not going to happen again. I'll be here to protect you."

"I believe that."

Steve hesitated before sighing. He cleared his throat and finally pulled out of the parking lot. They didn't say anything as Steve drove to Hopper's cabin. He looked over, his heart sinking when he saw Max sleeping against the window.

He started subconsciously driving more carefully. He took the turns slower, stopped softer, and took off gentler. When he pulled up to Hopper's cabin, he looked over at Max still sleeping.

He put the car in park and quietly got out. Steve ran up to the door and quickly knocked before jogging back to the car. He opened the car door and gently undid her seatbelt.

Without waking her up, Steve picked her up bridal style. He turned around to see the group watching them from the porch. They saw Max asleep in Steve's arms and stepped aside so he could carry her inside.

"Where do you want her?" Steve asked under his breath.

"You can put her in my room," El suggested. He followed her down the hall and gently put Max in El's bed. He was about to walk away but saw El drag her desk chair over so she was sitting next to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently.

"Is she going to be okay?" El asked under her breath. Steve walked back over and knelt next to her.

"Max is going to be fine," he whispered. "The doctors cleared her. Plus her best friend is a badass."

"But what if Henry comes back for her?" She asked, cutting him off. "I barely survived the last fight with him. If we fight again. . ."

"El, look at me," he whispered. She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "You did everything you could and it worked. You saved her."

"It doesn't feel that way," she said, her voice breaking.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully," Steve said trying to sound serious without sounding like he was mad at her. "I will do whatever it takes to protect her and you. He will not take anyone else from us."

She choked on a sob, practically jumping into Steve's arms. He instantly caught her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. A small piece of him was surprised that she had instantly looked to him for comfort. A few years ago, she would've run the other way. His heart softened a little at the thought.

"She doesn't blame you," El whispered. Steve looked down at her as she slowly looked up at him.

"What?" He asked, his voice getting caught in his throat.

"None of us blame you," she continued, "so you shouldn't blame yourself. You keep telling me that I did everything I could. So did you."

Steve smiled as he pulled her back in for another hug. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when felt her relax in his arms.

"We should let her get some sleep," Steve whispered. He looked down to see El barely keeping her eyes open. He laughed as he stood up, pulling her to her feet.

"You should get some sleep too," he added. El smiled up at him.

"We all should."

* * * * *

A couple of hours later, the party was in full swing. The friends were laughing and eating, things were starting to feel normal. Just as they were starting to forget the past events, there was a knock at the door.

Without thinking too much about it, Hopper went to answer it. He opened the door to see a woman with her back to him.

"Can I help you?" Hopper asked the woman.

"I sure hope so," the woman chuckled with her back still to him. "Because if not, this has been a complete waste of time."

The girl finally turned around and instantly made eye contact with Steve.

"Well well," she chuckled, "I'd recognize that hair anywhere."

"You're. . ." Steve didn't get the chance to finish his thought.

"You've been following us all day," Nancy said. The others jumped as she grabbed her gun and pointed it at the stranger.

"Who are you?" Nancy demanded. The others were shocked. The girl seemed unphased.

The girl rolled her eyes before moving her hands. The group stared as the gun was ripped out of Nancy's hands and flew to the stranger.

"Calm down, Princess," the stranger laughed as she handed the gun to Hopper. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."

"You," Max whispered. Everyone looked at her, confused. "It was you."

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Red."

"Wait," Lucas said slowly. "Are you the one who. . ."

"Healed your girlfriend?" The stranger finished for him. "Yes, I am."

Instantly the kids started shouting questions, a couple of thank yous, but mostly questions.

"Who are you?" Nancy asked, cutting off the kids.

The woman looked around the room with a small smile. Her eyes lingered on Steve before finally landing and staying on Eleven.

"My name," she introduced, "is Alice Creel."

#TOS #The Other Survivor #steve harrington #steve harrington book #original content #Stranger Things season 4 #Joe Keery

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okaybutlikeimagine · 5 years

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The shovel talk prompt is so cute. I was wondering if you could do one where the kids or Joyce gives billy a shovel talk since Steve’s dad defiantly wouldn’t do it.

(heyo dears, the post we’re talking about is right here!)

I fuckin love this and you KNOW they both would but in very very different ways.

Bc with Joyce, it’s still very motherly and a lot more gentle than Hop, but also Extremely Serious.

Bc i like to think Joyce has known Steve since he was a very little kid. Like… her kids have always gone to school together and she went to school w/ Steve’s parents. and she doesn’t really like steve’s parents like… at ALL. and she kind of thought Steve was mean (bc he was, guys. Love our babe, he’s a gem, but 1st season he was a jerkwad w/ little to no self awareness and that’s why i love his growth bc he was a teenage boy who grew from his mistakes and i love that for him♥) but he’s softened up in the past year and he babysits all of the kids and it just means a lot to her. She knows she can trust Will in the hands of Steve and that will forever and always mean the world.

And of COURSE she knows she can trust Billy too, but she’s known Steve longer and she’s watched him grow up and she’s seen the way he’s grown and she’s just… so proud of him. She’s so incredibly proud of him. He’s such a good kid and he has a good heart and Billy is also a very good kid with a very good heart (and she will defend that stance till the day she dies) but he can be a bit… rough. She knows it. He’d probably admit to it too. He’s just a little rough and tough and Steve is a very soft boy and Joyce worries.

So she definitely sits Billy down and talks to him about it. She puts a motherly hand on his knee like she always does when she has serious talks with him. She’s very gentle about bringing Steve up.

And then she squeezes his knee a little tighter than normal and says: “Now don’t do anything to harm Steve, alright? Because you’ll have a lot of upset people on your hands, and one of them will be me.”

She’s stern. Billy just kind of… laughs nervously.

But the KIDS… ohgod guys, the kids.

The kids would devote their lives to protecting Steve if they needed to. I’m thinking that Knight guard at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade who loyally guards the grail w/ his life. I’m thinking of them forming a transformer like thing, all of them becoming a different part of the body so they can ward off evils and wrongdoers. I’m thinking something along the lines of London Tipton’s father’s body guards who form a literal blockade around him so you never see his face. Like, imagine these lil children banding together to form a little square around Steve, blocking him from the rest of the world so that no one can touch him or even look at him w/o going through them first. (There’s a scene where London dances w/ her dad except the body guard dudes don’t really move so she’s just holding his hands and all of the body guard dudes are moving side to side as they dance and it’s Hilarious and i just want to put that image into your heads but w/ the kids around Steve and Billy pouting bc whythefuck isn’t he allowed to see him goddamn boyfriend???)(anyway, i digress)(and might be making some references you don’t understand goodness i’m so sorry)

okaY so the kids are all at Mike’s house playing DnD or being dorks or whatever it is 14 yr olds do in a group alone. Or at least, that’s what Billy thinks. He’s really not sure what’s going on, he doesn’t pretend to understand their little shenanigans, he listened to Will rant about DnD character types for about 2 hours last week and his brain still feels a little fried by it so he just…….. He lets it be. All he needs to know is when to drop them off, when to pick them up, and when to tune them out just enough to where he doesn’t feel like a total jackass. Really, only w/ Will though bc Will is his favorite and he’d never wanna upset Will.

Anyway, he’s at Mike’s house, knocking on the door, here to pick Will and El up, when Mike opens the door and ushers him inside immediately.

“Hi Billy come in! We uhhh… we need you to help us… decide something.” Mike says lamely. Billy’s so unconvinced it’s insane.

“Decide something? Seriously? Since when have you nerds ever wanted my opinion on anything?”

“Well uh… this is a weird situation and we need your help.” Dustin says in what he probably thinks is sweet but to Billy is actually just very irritating, but he turns his attention to Dustin anyway.

Billy rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “Whatever, what do you need?”

“Uhhhhhhh…. Now Mike!”

And suddenly, Billy’s world is black and very fabric-y. He’s been blindfolded. It’s very dumb and Mike probably would have struggled if he wasn’t Billy’s exact height so Billy starts wriggling and struggling and reaching for the blindfold when he feels someone grab his hand.

“It’s alright, Billy. We’re just going downstairs.” Will’s calm, soft voice says as he pulls him in some direction. Billy follows with a lot less struggle. He doesn’t wanna hurt Will.

And in a few minutes, Billy’s being pushed into a chair. He’s pretty sure he hears voices quietly bicker over tying him up but the consensus seems to be a “no” on that one bc soon he’s gaining sight again.

His vision clears from it’s blinded blur to see a kid w/ a mop of curly hair in front of his face.

“Hello Billy.” He says like he’s intimidating or something.

“Hi Billy!” El says extremely cheerfully. Dustin turns his head to shush her.

“El! Sh! We’re supposed to be intimidating!”

“Ohhhhh…. Intimidating?”

Max chimes in. “Like, scary.”

“Oh!” El says in understanding, making her best angry face and thinking way too hard and, very suddenly, exploding a lightbulb. She shrieks.

“Sorry…”

“It’s alright El.” Will says kindly, walking towards a closet. “Mike’s mom keeps extra lightbulbs in the closet.”

“Will!” Mike hisses “We’re busy right now!”

Will hits Mike with a silencing look. “I think you guys can handle this.”

Mike pouts. “Why are none of you helping us?” He looks to the corner where Max and Lucas are sitting, Lucas on the arm of a lounge chair and Max on the seat.

“We’re… supervising.” Lucas says over a sip of his soda.

“Yeah, we’re just making sure this dumbass doesn’t get murdered for being stupid.” Max says, gesturing to Dustin who makes a very loud noise of indignation. Max shrugs.

And Billy?? Is tired as all hell. Kinda just wants to leave. Really, he could leave and these little twerps probably wouldn’t even notice. They didn’t tie him down or anything, he’s just sitting in a chair watching these children fumble like idiots trying to be intimidating.

But…. he indulges them. He thinks it’s kind of entertaining. Sure, he could be doing a lot more w/ his day, but seeing these kids be dumb is still vaguely enjoyable. Plus, he likes El and Will and Max and he thinks sitting here for their sake might be worth it maybe.

So he sits and he watches and he listens to Mike and Dustin bicker about how to “interrogate a witness”

“We’re not interrogating him, we’re intimidating him!”

“Well you gotta use the same tactics, right?”

To the point where Max heaves a bit sigh and shoves them aside so she’s standing in front of Billy, sitting in her hip w/ her arms crossed.

“Alright Billy, look. We know you’re dating Steve. And we’re fine with you dating Steve.” She gives a hard look to Mike and Dustin, who look about to chime in w/ opinions of their own, but wither under Max’s gaze. “All we’re saying is we need to set some ground rules here.” Max says as she turns back to Billy. “Number one-”

“Don’t hurt Steve!” Dustin all but screams, causing Max to sigh with a roll of her eyes.

“Alright, yes. Rule number one: Don’t hurt Steve. He’s like… family at this point. He’s super cool and nice to all of us and we care about him so don’t hurt him.”

“Or else I’ll hurt you!” Dustin pipes up again LOUDLY.

“Or Dustin will talk your ear off and probably accidentally spit on you while he does it.” Max says to a chorus of snickers and one very loud “Hey!” from the subject of her teasing.

“Rule number two: don’t be too…. Gross around us.” Max makes a face. “Like, if we have to witness you two kissing more than once a week, that’s excessive.”

At that is where Billy scoffs. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. at least for those of us who don’t live with you. And Number three: I don’t wanna hear ANYTHING about you guys… sleeping together.”

Everyone audibly gags at the thought. Billy is full on laughing now.

“Wow, such a kid you can’t even say the word fu-”

“NONE OF IT. Not even in passing or anything bc you guys accidentally talk too loud. I don’t want to be subjected to any of that.” Max is adamant about it, sealing it with a punch to his shoulder. Billy just puts his hands up in defeat.

“Yeah, fine, whatever. Like I wanna talk about my sex life with a bunch of twerps.”

Billy is thoroughly entertained by the faces of the kids, all looking absolutely mortified, Will’s face blushing like crazy, El’s head tilted bc she doesn’t understand.

Billy gives Max a look.

“Can I go now?”

Max shrugs, eyebrows furrowed bc she’s mad she had to hear the word sex come out of her brother’s mouth. He’s so grossly brazen all the time.

“Yeah, whatever. Just be nice to Steve.”

Billy pats his own knees and gets up, gesturing to El and Will to follow him.

“Let’s go, punks.” He says, the two of them following, Will’s face still red and El’s eyes a little less confused bc she doesn’t really care anymore. They say goodbye to their friends before following Billy out the door.

The three of them leave behind 2 very loud and complaining boys (Mike and Dustin), but it sounds like Max puts them in their place. Billy chuckles as he slips into his car.

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fatechica · 6 years

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hold me tight and never let go

Summary: Five days ago, El closed the Gate and saved the world and there's only one thing she wants: to see Mike again. Good thing Mike wants to see her just as badly.

Pairing: Mike and El

Word Count: 4,644

Notes: Ok, gonna try this whole posting-fic-to-Tumblr thing, see how it goes. Here’s hoping?

Link to AO3

“I want to see him.”

“Kid, I don’t know. You’re still-”

“No, I’m feeling better. And you said I could.” A pause, silence filled with a sniffle, lips turn down in a pout. “You promised.”

A sigh, resignation and capitulation. “Alright, fine. I’ll see what I can do, ok? Give me a couple days.”

The days immediately following after El closes the Gate are exhausting. El spends most of them in bed, asleep. She’s not sick, exactly, but drained, run down. Her limbs feel too heavy, like someone added weights to them when she wasn’t looking, and even moving to go to the bathroom exhausts her to the point of needing to take a two hour nap afterwards.

But, even with all of that, even as it takes what feels like forever to get stronger, to get better, back to normal, there’s only one thing she wants: to see Mike again.

It’s only been a few days since she saw him last – waking up in Will’s bedroom to see Mike sleeping next to her, watching him wake up, having him wrap his arms around her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. But she went so long – 353 days – without seeing him that the hours she was with him, though she relished every moment, were not nearly enough to make up for the time without him.

And Hop promised that she could see Mike, promised that she wouldn’t have to hide alone anymore.

So, when she tells Hop she wants to see Mike again and Hop tries to deny her, El does the only thing she can think of.

She guilt trips him.

She’s seen it on her soaps. A woman turns to a man and pouts and looks sad and the man gives in to whatever the woman is asking. In her soaps, though, those women were usually not really sad. Which meant it's different when El does it. Because she is sad. Or, not sad, really. Not like she had been. But she misses Mike, misses him so much it hurts. And so the pout she gives Hop, plus the little sniffle, well…those aren’t fake.

Hop caves, because of course he does – El knows when his shoulders slump and he sighs, looking away for a brief moment before he looks back at her with a soft expression on his face.

And, suddenly, despite the exhaustion that still weighs on her, despite the way her eyelids still feel way too heavy (it feels like someone is tugging them down like the way she pulls down the window shades), a happy little thrill runs through El and she smiles.

She’s going to see Mike again. And she can’t wait.

It takes a bit of arranging and communicating – Hop to Joyce to Will to Mike – but Friday after El closes the Gate finds Mike sitting on the couch in Will’s living room, backpack by his knee, which is currently bouncing up and down with nervous energy.

Will’s sitting next to him, wrapped in a sweatshirt and thick flannel PJ pants, looking better than he’s looked in a while. He’s been out of school all week, recovering from what happened, and Mike’s been coming over after school almost every day, checking up on Will and bringing him notes and homework from school so he doesn’t get too far behind.

It’s on one of this trips where Will passed on the news that El wants to see him and that Hopper’s going to let him visit her. So, the cover story is that Mike is spending the night at Will’s (and, he will, later that evening, he’s pretty sure. It’s not like he’s going to be spending the night…wherever El’s been staying this whole time – Nancy said it was a cabin, but Mike has no point of reference for what that might mean, so his brain’s keeping those details vague whenever he thinks about it).

But, for a while at least, he’s going to get to spend time with El. And the thought makes him so excited, he can barely contain himself. He loads up his backpack with stuff he wants to show El, things he wants to do with her – the first Star Wars movie for them to watch together, a couple of toys of his that he wants her to have, a few comic books he wants to show her (maybe even let her borrow if she’s interested, which he’s secretly hoping for), a few books of Nancy’s that she let him borrow that she thinks El might like, a couple of small games like Pick-Up Sticks and a deck of cards, some of his favorite candy leftover from Halloween.

It occurs to Mike, the thought hitting him like a punch to the heart as he sits in Will's living room, that there's a lot of things he doesn't know. Like if wherever she is has a VCR, much less a TV, or how well she knows how to read. But, most of all, what he’s realizing with sickening dread is that, while he knows El and cares about her more than he has the words to say, he doesn’t really know her.

What does she like? What does she hate? Does she have a favorite kind of book or movie or TV show? What does she like to do? And, maybe most importantly, what if the answers to any of those questions don’t come anywhere close to matching his answers for those questions? Will that mean that any possible relationship between them is doomed before it can start?

(In a distant, calmer corner of his heart, a voice whispers no, of course not, but Mike’s not really in much of a calm mood at the moment, so the voice goes unheeded beneath all the anxiety that bubbles in his veins.)

“Mike, calm down. You’re making the whole couch shake,” Will says and Mike gives a start. He’s been so preoccupied with El and all the thoughts swirling in his head that he just about forgot that Will was even here.

“Sorry,” Mike says, looking over at Will with a sheepish smile on his face. “Just…I dunno, nervous, I guess.”

Will smiles and breathes out a small laugh. “It’s ok, I get it. Probably excited too, yeah?”

Mike gulps, nodding. “Yeah, that too. I still can’t believe she’s back. And, well, I just hope she likes the stuff I’m bringing over.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it, Mike. She likes you, right? She’ll probably just be happy to see you again.”

“It’s just…” Mike trails off, licking his lips. “What if she hates all the stuff I bring over? Like, what if we have nothing in common?”

Save for the sounds of Mrs. Byers moving around in the kitchen behind Will, gathering things together for Hopper to take with him – a couple of casseroles, a bag of Nancy’s old clothes that she brought over to give to El – a long silence stretches between the two boys as they look at each other, Mike agonizing and Will uncertain. But, then Will sighs, shaking his head. “I don’t know, Mike. But I don’t think you should worry so much. Just show her the stuff you like and if she likes it, she likes it. If not, then you two can figure out stuff you both like. I’m sure there has to be something.”

Yeah, it’s a big universe, Mike thinks. Surely there exists something that they have in common.

It’s a worst case scenario, but the thought still gives Mike hope and he feels the knot of anxiety loosen from around his ribcage. “Thanks, Will,” Mike says, smiling slightly.

The smile Will gives Mike in return is bright and toothy and just so relieving to see. Mike’s so, so glad Will’s still here to smile like that. “No problem. I’m just glad you and El get to see each other.” Will’s smile turns mischievous. “There’s only so much mooning over how much you miss her the rest of us can take.”

Mike reaches out and shoves Will, hand hard against his shoulder. “Shut up,” Mike says as Will bursts out laughing.

Will’s smile hasn’t budged. “Are you gonna kiss her, Wheeler?”

“None of your business, Byers,” Mike says, feeling his cheeks flush. One, because now he can’t stop thinking about the two kisses that he and El have shared – the first one a year ago in cafeteria at school, but the second one just a few days ago after he woke up to see El lying next to him, tired but still so, so pretty, where she kissed him this time, instead of the other way around. But, also, he can’t stop thinking, hoping, that he might get to kiss her again, feel the softness of her lips against his and hear the soft gasp of her breath.

God, he can’t believe he can hope for this again and, despite the blush that threatens to burn permanently into his skin, Mike doesn’t think he’s ever been happier.

El’s back. And he gets to see her.

The doorbell rings and Mike’s heart leaps into his throat. Mrs. Byers comes bustling in from the kitchen and beelines it towards the front door, opening it to reveal Chief Hopper. Mike watches as Mrs. Byers waves Hopper inside, the older man eyeing the room like he's expecting something to jump out of the shadows. Mike can’t help the way he gulps when Hopper’s gaze lands on him. The look in Hopper’s eyes is guarded, almost flat, and Mike can’t read anything in it.

“You ready to go, kid?” Hopper asks as he looks at Mike.

Mike nods, wishing he didn’t feel so small (but really he knows he can’t help it – Hopper’s a giant compared to Mike). “Yeah, m’ready.”

“Well, then, get a move on it. I’m on a tight schedule here.”

“Not so fast, Hop,” Joyce says, voice full of motherly scolding. “I have some things for you to take with you. A couple of casseroles – you can’t keep eating those awful TV dinners - and some more clothes for El.”

The look on Hopper’s face turns from stony to…fondly annoyed? “Joyce, really, you didn’t have to-”

“I’m doing it for that poor girl you keep locked up in that cabin,” Mrs. Byers said, cutting Hopper off. Mike fights off a smile as he stands and shoulders his backpack. “Really, Hop, I don’t know how you’ve gotten away with feeding her frozen dinners for this long. Now, I may not be the best cook, but even what I can do is better than that.”

“And we both appreciate it, Joyce,” Hopper says. “Thank you.”

Mrs. Byers’ face softens in a small smile. “Well, you’re welcome, Hop. Here, I’ll help you carry everything out to the car.”

“Bye, Mike,” Will says, standing as Hopper and his mom carry food and clothes out to Hopper’s police cruiser.

“Bye, Will. See you later tonight?” Mike says as he and Will exchange a quick hug.

“Yeah. Tell El I say hi. And have fun.”

“Ok, thanks,” Mike says before he follows Hopper and Mrs. Byers outside.

A few minutes later and Mike is sitting in the front seat, seatbelt buckled, arms wrapped around his backpack that’s sitting in his lap. An awkward silence fills the car’s interior as Hopper drives, Mike keeping one eye on the route they’re taking so he can find his way back to El on his own.

But, eventually, the silence is too much and Mike risks a glance over at Hopper. Hopper’s driving with one hand on the wheel, the other with his elbow leaning against the door so he can prop up his head. The look on Hopper’s face is carefully neutral and Mike feels like his stomach is just going to twist itself into knots if he doesn’t do something to break the tension

So, Mike takes in a deep breath and speaks. “Um, thank you. For letting me come over and visit, for letting me see her.”

Hopper sighs and glances over at Mike with what looks like the barest hint of a smile. “No problem, kid. She’s been asking to see you and I figure she deserves a break. It’s been a tough week for her, recovering after what happened and all that.”

“O-oh, uh, yeah, I bet,” Mike stutters. “Um, how is El doing?”

“Pretty tired, been sleeping a lot,” Hopper says. “Closing the Gate took a lot out of her. She’s getting better, though.”

“Good, that’s good,” is all Mike can think of to say and silence takes over the car once more.

After a bit, Hopper lets out another sigh, louder this time. “Right, look, here’s the deal. I gotta work late tonight, so it’ll just be the two of you until I get home around 10. Which means I need you to watch out for her, ok? She’s getting better, but she still has a ways to go until she's back to 100%. Make sure she eats something and don’t go doing anything crazy. No wild adventures, no getting her worked up, nothing, you understand me?”

Struck silent for a moment – he and El are going to be alone for almost 6 hours where he can just be with her without being scared someone’s watching and it’s all he’s ever really wanted – Mike nods, but then realizes that Hopper’s not looking at him. “Yessir, I understand,” Mike says.

Hopper glances over at Mike and breathes out what sounds like a short laugh. “You’re alright, kid. Just as long as you remember to make sure she’s happy and taken care of, we’ll be fine, you and me.”

Mike doesn’t have anything to say – he still feels like he’s on thin ice after exploding at Hopper last weekend and doesn’t want to risk doing anything that might take away this chance to see El again. So he just makes a small hum in agreement and focuses on watching where they’re going, memorizing the path that stretches between him and El, every minute that passes one that brings him closer to her. And so, he watches and waits.

By Friday, El’s feeling better than she has in days – but how much of that is because she’s actually feeling better or because she knows she’s seeing Mike later that day, she doesn't know.

She’s so excited that it feels like her skin is too small to contain her, like she’s just going to burst apart and float away. And so, trapped in the cabin with too much emotion that has very few outlets, El funnels her energy into making sure everything is perfect – cleaning and dusting and arranging. She’s suddenly very aware of how different Mike’s house is from the cabin, how much nicer his house is, with more things in it and just bigger. El can’t help but be nervous as she agonizes over every small detail.

And another thing she agonizes over? What to wear. In all the shows she watches, the women in them always want to look good for the men they’re trying to impress, wearing beautiful outfits in all sorts of colors and styles, each of them prettier than the last. El, with her limited wardrobe, doesn’t have that luxury. And while she knows that Mike won’t care (he didn’t last year, after she came back the first time, wig long gone, dirt freshly scrubbed from her face but not from her clothes. Still pretty? – Yeah, pretty, really pretty), El thinks she does. She wants to look pretty for him, she realizes with a blush that sears into her skin, and she doesn’t have many ways of accomplishing that.

Hopper came home a few nights ago with a bag of clothes from Joyce, things maybe more appropriate for a 13 year old girl than whatever Hop had been able to scrape together over the past year, so she has more options now than she did, but it's still not a lot. El eventually settles a pair of jeans that are bit too loose on her (a pair that Joyce brought over that fit better than anything Hop gave her) and a pretty, pale blue thermal that keeps her warm and has little white flowers patterned on the fabric. She fusses with her hair in the bathroom mirror, trying to tuck her curls behind her ear in a way that brings some order to them, but everything she tries just makes it worse and El feels like giving in to despair. Why does this have to be so hard?

As the clock ticks closer and closer to 4:00, when Hop said he’d have Mike over by, El feels increasingly nervous and antsy. She can’t sit still, she can’t even concentrate long enough on the TV to watch it for long. And, with nothing else left to do, El takes to pacing, occasionally sitting in a huff, but only for a few minutes before her pacing resumes again.

And just when El thinks she really can’t take it anymore, that she’s just going to die from all the waiting and excitement and longing, the secret knock sounds at the door and El’s heart leaps into her throat.

They’re here!

El stands by the couch, hands clenching into fists around sweaty palms, as she unlocks the door with her powers – so much easier now than it was before closing the Gate, like she’s gotten stronger – and waits.

The door opens and, at first, she sees only Hop as he walks in, arms laden with bags and dishware, the look on his face a little weary. But she hears Mike, hears him behind Hopper. “This is where-?”

And then Hop steps aside and she sees him and whatever question Mike was asking cuts off as he sees her, too. For a very, very long moment, they can only stare at each other, Mike standing in the open doorway, El by the couch, the distance between them mere feet that might as well be miles.

Mike’s staring at her, eyes wide, mouth gaping, like he can’t believe she’s really there, like he can’t believe he’s actually seeing her. And, in this moment, El stops caring about what she looks like or how dingy the cabin feels compared to Mike’s house. Because he’s here, looking at her like she’s all that matters, wearing dark jeans and a grey sweater, his hair a little messed up from the wind outside, all pretty and dark and pairing so well with the freckles that splash across his nose and cheeks that El wants to trace one at a time.

God, she wants to cry, she’s so happy right now.

“Alright, you two.” El jumps at the sound of Hop’s voice and she’s suddenly hyperaware that he’s been here the entire time and El blushes as she looks at Hop. “I gotta head back to the station, so you two behave yourselves. Mike, when I get back, I’ll take you over to the Byers’, ok?” Mike only nods and Hop gives the two of them a look before he’s out the door, gently shoving Mike aside to close it behind him.

And then it’s just Mike and El and the silence that surrounds them is deafening.

Until Mike speaks, just the barest whisper of her name – “El.” – and El’s moving before she’s even fully aware of it, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, her body trembling with too much emotion to be contained inside of her. She relishes in the feel of him against her, warm and real and home, and she never, ever wants this moment to end.

For a half second that feels like an eternity, Mike can’t move. From the moment he walked in through the door of the smallest cabin known to man and saw El, he’s been frozen in place, shock and disbelief and happiness and excitement swirling inside of him, rooting him to the floor.

Because she’s here and real and alive and looking just so pretty he thinks he might die – flushed cheeks, eyes wide and sparkling, the pale blue of her top setting off the tone of her skin, and her hair, god her hair, an adorable cloud of soft curls that is nothing like he ever imagined she’d have. And she’s staring at him like it’s the happiest day of her life, like she can’t believe it's real.

And then Hopper’s gone, leaving just the two of them, and before Mike knows it, he has an armful of teenage girl. El’s arms wrap tight around his torso, her head burrowing into his shoulder, and that eternity of a half second gives him enough time to luxuriate in the feel of her hugging him before he finally moves and hugs her back.

And it’s the best hug of his entire life.

She’s warm against him, warm and real and holding him so tight, he never wants her to stop. Her hair tickles against his neck, her breath sweet against his throat, and the way she fits in his arms feels like he was made to hold her and only her.

They stand there for Mike’s not sure how long, just holding each other tight, both of them trembling and Mike hears the occasional sniffle – both from El and from him – as they both try not to cry. He would feel more embarrassed at how emotional he feels right now, but it’s only her here to see it and she’s just as affected as he is. It’s all so perfect that nothing can ruin this moment.

Eventually, though, the hug comes to an end and they pull away just enough so he can look down at her face. The way she's smiling up at him almost takes his breath away.

“Hi,” she says, softly, her voice sweet and thrilling – especially because he almost thought he’d never hear it again. “You’re here.”

Mike can’t help but laugh, but it sounds too breathy, too high pitched and he wonders just what in the hell is wrong with him – happiness, love, home his heart whispers, but he’s too busy staring down at her to listen. “I’m here,” he says. There’s another long moment of silence, the two of them staring at each other, transfixed, and Mike suddenly, desperately wants to kiss her.

But, before he can, she does, reaching up to press her lips against his and Mike’s heart feels like it’s going to pound its way out of his chest, her lips soft and warm and sweet. He has enough presence of mind to kiss her back, to lean in and return the gentle pressure, hoping that he can convey everything he’s feeling with the simple, but all-encompassing touch of his lips to hers.

And when they each pull away, both of them are blushing and Mike’s glad that he’s not the only one who feels too hot. He clears his throat, remembering that he’s not just here to hug and kiss her, but to spend time with her – though he’s sure there’s going to be more hugging and, hopefully, more kissing and, once again, he can’t believe that he’s here with her, able to do all these things that once felt so out of reach.

It’s with a little bit of reluctance that Mike pulls away, looking around the cabin as he does. “So, this is where you’ve been living?”

“Since Hop found me,” El says, looking a little bashful. Part of Mike wonders, found her where, but he ignores it as El keeps talking. “Did you want to sit?”

Mike shrugs, his backpack pulling on his shoulder as he does so. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you want, really.”

El smiles at him, shy but still beautiful, and Mike feels her hand take his, fingers wrapping around his palm, and tug him towards the couch. When they sit, Mike only lets go of her hand long enough to slip his backpack from his shoulders, all of his worries about her liking what he wants to share with her gone in the excitement of just being able to.

And, as it turns out, he has nothing to worry about after all.

The night flies by and El’s never been happier. They watch the first Star Wars movie, which she loves, and read the comic books that Mike brought, which she likes well enough, but not as much as Mike seems to. They eat dinner – macaroni and cheese from one of the casserole dishes that Joyce made for her and Hopper – and, after, Mike shares the candy that he brought over. There’s Snickers bars and peanut butter cups (which she really likes), Milk Duds (which...well, are ok), Smarties and Sour Patch Kids that make her lips pucker and tongue curl in her mouth, and Pop Rocks which explode in her mouth in a tingling, fizzy way that makes her laugh, which makes Mike laugh and it's El's favorite sound in the entire world.

In between it all, they talk, him fast and with all sorts of words she doesn't quite understand yet, her softly and hesitantly, but in a way that has him fascinated, waiting for each syllable that drops from her lips. She shares some of what happened to her during her year away, he talks about the past week at school, about some of the other things he didn’t share during all those times he called for her. And, through it all, they’re touching each other – holding hands, hugging, her leaning against him – and it’s all El’s ever wanted. It’s all so happy and carefree and magical that El never wants the night to end.

Eventually, though, it has to. Hop comes home and then Mike has to go. He leaves behind the books that Nancy gave him to give her – Little Women, The Phantom Tollbooth, A Wrinkle in Time – and a couple of his toys, a small teddy bear that he loved as a kid that he’s long since out grown and Rory, which makes her smile as she hugs the small plastic toy close to her chest.

Hop gives them a moment to say goodbye and El hugs Mike tight, not wanting him to go, but understanding that he has to. “Will you be back soon?” she asks, knowing she sounds needy but not caring in the slightest.

“I was paying attention when Hopper drove me here,” Mike says, holding her just as tight. “I’m pretty sure I can make my way back on my own. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

El feels the sting of tears in her eyes and she tries to blink them away. “Ok,” she says, softly.

Mike pulls back and looks down at her. El can’t look away, can’t get enough of the way his gaze dances over her face. After a quick check to make sure Hop isn’t looking, he leans over to kiss her, light and quick but still exciting, still enough to make her heart beat loudly in her chest, still enough to take her breath away. “I’ll see you later, El,” he says, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.

El finds herself smiling and, even though she hates saying goodbye, she thinks she likes goodbye kisses enough that it makes the parting feel not so painful. “See you later, Mike.”

They watch each other until Hop closes the door between them and El feels like part of her has walked out the door with Mike. But she knows, just knows, that she’ll see him again soon, that now that Mike knows where she is, nothing will keep him from coming to see her again.

Because he promised. And that means everything.

#stranger things #mileven #fanfic

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somedaymoon · 6 years

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This is what my 2 am mind came up with since I didn’t want to write out an actual fic here are some things for it.

As Will gets older he begins to feel lonelier even with his friends. So even though the others don’t realize it they begin to leave Will behind.

Mike comes to the Byers house more often for Jane (Hopper and Joyce are married). Lucas and Max and occasionally Dustin are hanging out. Steve works at his dads shop instead of going to college so Dustin is typically there and gets a summer job there thanks to Steve. With El it’s like he was close to her even before Hopper and Joyce got married. He’d do anything for her. So he tries his best to stop these feelings he has for Mike because he wants her to be happy. So Will is happy for them, as a best friend and brother. Even if he still gets a knot in his chest when he sees them kiss. And he knows the she knows. Like when Mike will casually announces how much he loves her in front of him her gaze meets his and her eyes soften sadly. Or when Mike calls their house for her she’ll grip his arm and give him a sad smile. Then there’s times when they’d lay in bed together listening to his stereo with no words between them.

Lucas and Dustin growing distant from him hurts him just as much. They are…were? his best friends. He misses hearing Lucas complain about his sister over the com or showing him how to use his slingshot, he misses his calming presence. How they complain that they’re the only sane ones in the group. He misses Dustin’s smile and how he’d try to light up a room. When his days were at their worst and Dustin would be there asking if he wanted to come over and read comics. He misses them both. So he tries to meet up with them whenever they can.

Max he misses. Her tough exterior and her loving and soft core. He misses the weekly skateboard lessons that he knows he did terrible at but she still met with him for it even when they decided not to skateboard that day. She always seemed to see through his bullshit, behind those fake smiles and she never treated him like he was glass because she understood.

He still sees them all at school and they talk and laugh but it’s not exactly the same to him. Their arcade and DnD meet ups grow thinner and far in between. And just all of the group hanging out at once becomes difficult when other plans arise.

But Mike seeming to turn away from him pained him the most. Seeing his best friend since forever slowly pull away from him. What did he do? Did he find out? Does he hate me? Mike he loved and loved and would hold him and cherish him with all that he was. Will honestly thought that things would turn out differently.

What happened to the party that would do anything for each other. That would stay awake until 2 am on the com just to enjoy each other’s company. He doesn’t blame El. He doesn’t blame Max. He doesn’t blame Mike or Dustin or Lucas. He blames himself.

[Note: somehow this turned into Ryers so here you go, read ahead if you desire it. ]

Richie had arrived to live with his aunt Karen and uncle Ted around a year or two ago. Richie and Mike don’t necessarily get along at first but in some weird way understand each other. Although Richie was never brought into ‘the party’ he does occasionally join them when they come over and on arcade nights and does hang out with Max and they bond over skateboarding and how shit life can be. But then there’s Will. Richie wonders how in such a shitty world that does nothing but to screw Will he turns out kind. Since Richie and Mike look alike unintentionally he begins to hang out with Richie because of his feelings and deep down he knows Mike is leaving him behind. He wants returned feelings but he also wants his best friend back. Richie realizes Will’s feelings for Mike a month or so after he arrives. And doesn’t bring it up to Will until a couple months after that. Richie does fall for Will not exactly realizing it at first but then eventually it hits him that he is in love with him. Richie wants Will to see him as Richie instead of Mike’s subsitute. He wants Will to love him. To look at him like he carries the world and it pisses him off that Mike doesn’t see how much Will cares for him. How lucky he is. The thing is Will does know though that the two are different. The slight difference in their voices. Just a speck of color in Richies eyes that isn’t in Mike’s. And the obvious being differences in personality.

Richie is aware of how Will is feeling with his friends and the loneliness that is consuming him. He notes the sadness that flickers in his eyes when someone has plans. The fake smile when he sees Jane and Mik together. So Richie tries to do the best he can do to make Will happy. When someone has other plans or when Will is left alone, Richie will invite him out. To the new diner that opened in place of Benny’s diner, to see a movie, on a drive when Will can’t sleep. But then Will is the one who begins to ask. His smiles widen when he sees Richie throughout the day. He asks if he’d want to go to a fair with him a town over. He invites Richie over to spend the night even when he knows Mike is free. Even when Richie is feeling like everything is crashing down. There is Will, holding him with worry in his eyes but not pushing it. They believe the other to be their light. One night Richie climbs into Will’s window with a spur of the moment thought on his mind. “Let’s go on a road trip!” Richie remembers that Will has never been to the ocean. So he thought they could go through Ohio and Pennsylvania maybe even stop by New York and then off to New Jersey or Go through Ohio to West Virginia, Virginia to Maryland. They wouldn’t even have to get a room at a motel they could pull the tents out of storage. Will thinks he’s insane when he tells him this. He knows how protective Joyce is of him. And though she knows Richie and cares for him too Will doesn’t know if she’d allow it. He didn’t even think about what Jim might say. Although Will isn’t as close to him as El is, he still is protective of him. Plus Richie hasn’t had the best interactions with Jim. First week for example, Richie got to Hawkins he ended up in front of him at the police station. Besides his parents weren’t the only problem. The money for the trip was another. They both decided they’d take extra shifts at work and save up all their money and leave in a couple months. It took some convincing with Joyce and Jim but he won them over. El had a smile on her face when she found out. She was happy on this development. Will had been laughing and smiling more and she planned to thank Richie Tozier one day. She had noticed the shift in their group and wanted to fix it when she saw how it was effecting everyone especially Will. A group meeting would be necessary if they wanted to fix this rift. But she’d ask when Will came back. El wanted him to enjoy his time.

Usually he’d be a tired mess in the morning but when Richie pulled into their driveway at 5 AM he was buzzing with joy. There Richie was leaning on the car they’d be spending a week in with grin on his face. “William my good fellow!” Richie said with his worst old English accent , fully knowing it would make Will smile. “He’s ridiculous” Will thought, but it didn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face as he moved towards him with bags in hand.

Well there it is i hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to use this to write an actual fic or branch off from this.

#okay heres my 2 am fanfic thoughts feel free to write off of this.#byeler #ryers #richie tozier #will byers #stranger things #mike wheeler #ze post

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fandammit · 6 years

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Bitchin’

[A/N: Oh, you know. Just 2000 words of Nancy hanging out and interacting with Hopper, Mike and Eleven because I love her. Also, she invites El out on a shopping trip because she deserves clothes that weren’t once her dad’s.]

On Ao3

It’s ten minutes until five-thirty when she pulls up to Hopper’s cabin, which means she has roughly fifteen minutes until Mike will even begin to start being persuaded to leave El. She fully intends on just waiting in the car for him because while Hopper’s cabin is cozy and cute for him and El -- especially so after she and Joyce had descended on it last month and helped clean and decorate it -- it’s still small enough to feel crowded when there’s three people in it.

Plus, Mike only gets these Tuesdays after school to spend time alone with El since the rest of the gang all head over on Wednesday and Thursday is just barely controlled chaos at the Byers house. She thinks he deserves that time with her after the year the two of them have had.

But then she sees Hopper standing on the porch, smoking a cigarette and staring off into the woods like he does, and it feels rude to sit in the car like he doesn’t exist, so she grabs the stack of clothes in the seat next to her and gets out of the car.

“Hey, Hopper,” she says, smiling because she’s finally glad that it doesn’t sound weird any more -- leaving the Chief off his name.

(“You don’t work for me and you don’t report to me,” he’d said one day at Thursday night dinner. “Just call me Hopper.”)

“Hey, kid,” he says, nodding at the bundle of clothes in her arms. “What’s that?”

She climbs the steps slowly and holds out the stack of clothes for him to see.

“I was cleaning out my closet and I wanted to see if El wanted any of these.”

He smiles, the expression softening the harsh lines of stress on his face.

“That’s great. I’m sure she’ll love them.” He takes a drag of the cigarette, making sure to blow the smoke away from her. “You can go on in. They’re probably in her room doing multiplication tables, but I make ‘em keep the door open, so nothing to worry about.”

She tilts her head in confusion.

“Why would I be worried?”

He huffs out a laugh.

“Really?”

She squints at him, her brows drawing together in confusion.

“Well, they’re fourteen.” He raises his eyebrow.

“And your point?” He says out loud, though his expression says something different, something about fourteen year old boys alone and behind closed doors with his daughter.

She wants to jump in and defend Mike, say that he’s a good kid -- because he is -- and that he really cares about El -- because it’s obvious to anyone within a five mile radius and working eyes that he does. But then she thinks about the boys that she knew at fourteen, and then thinks a little bit longer about the fact that she really doesn’t want to think about her brother also being a fourteen year old boy.

So she points out something that’s equally as true.

“My point is that El could throw him across the room without even laying a hand on him if he ever tried anything that she didn’t want.”

He blinks at her and then lets out a small chuckle.

“Touche, kid, touche.”

She smiles, satisfied, before resting against the railing next to him.

“I’ll go inside in a few minutes. Jonathan picked up an extra shift, so I’m here a little earlier than usual.”

Hopper frowns.

“Again? That’s the third one in a week.”

She sighs.

“His car needs repairs -- again, I know -- so he needs the extra money.”

Hopper tilts his head at her, a look of confusion on his face.

“Joyce didn’t mention it.”

She looks away. Crap. She forgot that he hadn’t told his mom.

“Oh, well, um, it just happened a few days ago.”

Hopper raises an eyebrow at her.

“And I have lunch with Joyce basically every weekday. It seems like something she would mention.”

Now it’s Nancy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Lunch everyday, huh? She tucks that bit of information away before clearing her throat and turning towards Hopper.

“Oh, well, he hasn’t exactly told his mom.”

Hopper takes a drag of his cigarette and shakes his head as he blows out the smoke.

“He hasn’t exactly meaning he hasn’t at all?”

She huffs out a laugh.

“Yeah, but -.” She glances over at him and then shrugs. “He just doesn’t want her to worry.”

Hopper sighs as he puts out his cigarette.

“Christ, that kid just needs a new car,” he says, shaking his head.

“Hence the extra shifts,” she replies with a wry smile.

He makes a humming sound in the back of his throat, a contemplative look on his face, before he motions towards the door.

She picks up the stack of clothes, following him into the house just in time to hear Mike say, “Quiet please! El is about to start a practice test.”

She sits down at the table, amused as Mike starts a stopwatch and El begins running her pencil furiously over what looks to be a serious of multiplication problems. She glances over at Hopper and sees how closely he’s staring at El, muttering encouraging phrases that are too quiet to be heard. She looks over at Mike and sees almost the exact same expression on his face, and it’s frankly so adorable that she wishes desperately that she had Jonathan’s camera with her to capture the moment.

About two minutes later, El puts down her pencil.

“Done,” she says with a triumphant grin, pushing the paper towards Mike. He grabs a pen from next to him on the floor, checking off each problem quickly before looking up at her with a wide grin.

“100% El! You’ve officially learned your multiplication tables!”

He makes a move like he’s about to reach out and hug her, then glances over to where Nancy and Hopper are sitting and quickly shifts it into an awkward pat on her shoulder instead.

El, on the other hand, seems to completely disregard both her and Hopper, and leans forward to kiss Mike on the lips before grabbing the paper and jumping up from where they’re both seated on the floor.

Hopper makes a sound deep in his throat, but doesn’t say anything. And honestly, given the look on Mike’s face right now as his eyes dart between El and Hopper, it doesn’t seem like he really needs to.

She bounds over to where Hopper’s standing and shows him the paper.

“100 percent!” She says, practically bouncing on her toes, a wide grin lit across her face as she reaches out and wraps her arms around him.

He smiles down at her, wrapping his arm around her as he drops a kiss in her curly mass of hair.

“Nice job, kid, I knew you could do it.” He gestures over to Nancy. “Nancy’s got something you might like -- why don’t you take a look while Mike cleans up.” He pushes El towards her bedroom, gesturing for Nancy to follow her.

El settles on her bed, looking at at Nancy with curious expression her eyes.

Nancy sits down next to her and pushes the stack of clothes onto her lap.

“I was going through my closet and I wanted to see if you wanted any of these.”

El stares at the clothes, her fingertips gently brushing over the folds of fabric.

“Pretty,” she says quietly, turning her head up to look at Nancy with something that resembles awe. “For me?”

Nancy smiles.

“Yeah, it’s for you. I mean, whatever you want.” She casts a critical eye at the clothes. “And you don’t have to take them all - just whatever you actually like. It won’t hurt my feelings or anything.”

El looks at her, uncertain, but Nancy just smiles at her in a reassuring way, trying to encourage her to look through the stack.

She unfolds each piece of clothing one by one, running her hands over the fabric, turning it this way and that before she sets them down. Slowly, she splits the clothes into two different piles. The one closest to her -- the one Nancy assumes she wants to keep -- is filled with cooler, more dulled tones, maroons and mustards and faded pinks. She takes a jean jacket that Nancy bought once on a whim and never wore, a tartan skirt that never really seemed to fit her style. She notices that El shies away from anything too bright or too loud, and wonders if a lifetime of trying not to be noticed has somehow bled over into her fashion choices, too.

When she’s done, she hugs the new stack of clothes to her chest and smiles at Nancy, a little shy at the edges, but a real smile nonetheless.

“Thank you,” she says, a little bit of that awed look sneaking back into her eyes.

Nancy smiles.

“You’re welcome, El.” She pauses, and realizes that she’s never outright spoken her name aloud to her face for all that she’s thought it in her head. Mike and the boys still call her El, while Hopper and Joyce have taken to calling her Jane. She doesn’t really belong in either group -- just hears Mike call her El enough to go along with it. She tilts her head in the other girl’s direction. “El or Jane? Which one do you want me to call you?”

El stares at her for a long, intense moment, and Nancy can see her considering the question carefully.

“El,” she finally says, her tone resolute as she glances between Nancy and Mike.

Nancy nods before getting up off the bed, taking the discarded pile of clothes with her.

“See you at Thursday night dinner?”

El nods, her arms still wrapped around the newly acquired clothes. She’s wearing an oversized men’s flannel that can only once have belonged to Hopper over a small grey shirt that she feels like must’ve once belonged to Will. Nancy frowns, and glances over at the open door of El’s closet -- sees one dress hanging amidst a jumbled mishmash of men and boy’s clothing.

She furrows her brow as she leaves the room, chewing on her lip as an idea comes to her.

She glances over to where Hopper is cutting vegetables for tonight’s dinner, then walks over to where Mike’s waiting by the door, his backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Hey, go ahead to the car, I’m gonna ask Hopper something.”

Mike squints at her, his placid expression melting into look of deep suspicion.

“About what? Why? What are you going to ask him?”

She rolls her eyes and pushes him towards the door.

“Nothing about you, I wanna ask something about El.”

It’s apparently the exact wrong thing to say, because Mike’s frown just deepens even further and he actually plants his feet and crosses his arms as he turns to face her.

“What about El?”

She lets out a heavy sigh and puts her hands on both his shoulders.

“I’m going to ask him if I can take El out to get some new clothes this weekend because she deserves to have her own clothes, not just hand me downs from me and Hopper.” She shakes her head just as he opens his mouth. “And no, you can’t come, because she’ll need to try on clothes and it might be awkward if you’re there and I want her to get things she wants and that she thinks look good, not things she thinks you want.”

She keeps her hands on his shoulders until he relaxes, his arms hanging loosely at his side as he nods.

“You know you don’t have to protect her all the time, right? She can take care of herself.”

He looks abashed at that, scuffs his foot against the floor.

“Yeah, I know - I just - I don’t know.” He blows out a puff of air, glancing helplessly at the door like it’ll have an answer.

“Hey, I get it,” she says, because she does. There are times when she wants nothing more than just to wrap her arms around El, who has those wide brown eyes that have seen too much, that tattoo on her wrist that means she’s suffered more than her fair share. And she doesn’t even have half of Mike’s experience with her.

Still though -- she knows the frustration of not being taken at your worth, the resentment that can build at the feeling of being smothered. She doesn’t want that for her brother or El.

She squeezes his arm. “It’s not just you and El against the world any more, you know? You have people on your side -- both of you.” She tips her head down to meet his eyes. “You know that, right?”

It’s not a rhetorical question, though she wishes it could be. She knows she hadn’t been there for him in the last year, just when he’d needed her the most. She’d promised him no more secrets, then let them both retreat into each of theirs for a whole year.

She wants to make sure she doesn’t make that same mistake again.

“Mike?” She asks, brushing away that long thatch of hair that’s forever getting in his eyes.

He finally meets her gaze and nods, gives her a smile that’s as awkward as it is genuine.

“Yeah, I know, Nancy.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Ok, I’ll meet you in the car.”

He looks past her shoulder one more time, back into El’s bedroom, before turning and heading out the door.

She turns to where Hopper is standing, walks over slowly and clears her throat.

He glances over at her but keeps cutting the carrot.

“Everything ok with you two?”

She nods, then realizes he can’t see her.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Just sibling stuff.” She looks over to El’s bedroom, sees the younger girl trying on her old a grey and blue sweater with light pair of jeans and smiles. “I was wondering -- and I know that we still have to be really careful -- but I was thinking that it’d be nice to go out and get El some clothes of her own.”

Hopper stops cutting and sets down the knife, an indiscernible look on his face. It doesn’t seem like an outright no at least, so she continues. “All she has are these hand me down clothes from you and Will and now me, and, I don’t know, I think it’d good to get something just for her, you know? Something that she really wants to get. Something - something unique, distinct.”

“Bitchin’,” she hears El say behind her, a touch of amusement in the words. She sees the corner of Hopper’s mouth twitch, like he wants to smile but is trying not to, looks over at El to see a similar expression on her face.

“Yeah, um, bitchin’,” she says, her own mouth turning up at the word. She looks over at Hopper.

“I could take on a Saturday, somewhere far out of town, like Columbus or Bloomington. I mean, those are big enough cities that no one’s gonna notice two girls out for a shopping trip. We could leave early and be back by mid-afternoon, and I’d make sure that -- .”

“That’s fine with me,” Hopper says, interrupting her. He leans back against the counter and flicks his gaze between her and El. “I think it’s a good idea.”

She blinks rapidly. She actually expected more of a discussion, but when she looks around and sees how El is beaming at Hopper, the way her entire body is lit up with excitement, she understands why it was so easy.

Nancy grins up at him.

“Perfect! We’ll talk details at Thursday night dinner.”

He rolls his eyes.

“If we can somehow manage to be heard over the chaos at the dinner table, sure.”

Nancy laughs, and turns around to find herself facing El. The younger girl hesitates for a moment before wrapping her arms around Nancy.

“Thank you, Nancy,” she says quietly, squeezing her once before stepping back with an awkward look on her face.

Nancy smiles.

“Get ready to pick out some bitchin’ outfits, El.”

#Nancy Wheeler #Jim Hopper #eleven #Mike Wheeler #Stranger Things #Stranger Things Fic #my fic #if you're about the nancy hate then i'm not about you #this season ROBBED US of wheeler sibling interactions and also just positive female interactions and i'm mad about

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