A Rumble of Thunder. The Splattering of Rain. The Howl of the Wind.

Contrary to popular belief these were not the things that were keeping Mike up this night. No, it was something else.

Mike was wide awake, all too aware of the presence that he was currently sharing a bed with. Her face buried into his chest as she slept peacefully. His arm was draped around her protectively bringing her close to the warmth of his body. Both of them still had constant nightmares, it was rare for them to get a good nights sleep if they were not in the presence of the other.

Mike would dream of losing her, being forced to watch as she left him alone in the screaming howl of the dark or losing her when she left to close the gate. Never to be seen alive again

For El it was watching Mike getting tortured to death by Brenner's hands or being forced to open the gate and watch the Mind flayer rip apart everything she loved saving Mike for last or she would dream of the haunting screams of the men that she had so mercilessly slaughtered.

So here they lay in the protective embrace of the other.

However, the events that led to this played heavily upon Mike's mind, he was tortured but he also killed a man, the man may have been a monster, a monster intent on using El for his own purposes. So he shot him dead before he could do so. Although El understood why he did so, he was not a monster in her eyes, he never would be. But still, guilt gnawed at him like that of a rodent scratching the inside of a wall.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as the girl that was impossibly close to him shifted a little bit in her sleep, her head moved up to the crook of his neck. He was so impossibly smitten with her, the depth of their relationship, of their love, culminated in one night of passion before everything went to shit.

She looked irrevocably innocent in her PJ's, they were littered with golden stars. She had said she liked them only because it reminded her of the stars upon his face that she simply adored so much, it still sent a blush to his cheeks whenever it was mentioned. She wasn't as innocent as she seemed though, she had killed people in such brutal ways that defied description. She wanted them to burn and she made them burn. All because they had hurt the one person in her life that she loved more than life itself. And she had enjoyed every bit of pain she had inflicted upon them.

She would slaughter any and all who dared to hurt the boy with the star freckled face.

Their night of passion had not been repeated at least not yet, both were content just to lay in the arms of the other, they felt complete, whole, a feeling that was becoming highly addictive.

Hopper had seen the extent of which the two felt for each other, it was beyond comprehension, they were willing to kill for the other, hopper had seen that firsthand. In fact the day Mike killed Brenner Hopper had found himself more accepting of the lad, because he saw the extent of which they were willing to go for each other, the lengths they were prepared to go. Reluctantly Wheeler had started to become a regular face in his life, he remembers having a stern talk with them both one day that they weren't allowed to do certain things, Hopper didn't realise that the two had already done what he explicitly forbid. Both El and Mike could not look each other in the eye for an hour until they simply went back to their lovesick, sappy selves. Hopper simply had to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his eyes tiredly in exasperation.

The only one who knew of that night was Nancy, the two Wheeler siblings had become close after the events of both 83 and 84. She too ended up having a stern talk to Mike about how to be safe and responsible, although she found it incredibly romantic, going against even her own cynicism when it came to the matters of Love. Although Mike did not seem to possess that trait.

Nancy would on occasion observe the two of them. She would watch how gentle he would be with her and in return see the look that El would send his way in pure adoration like he was the literal creator of all things and he too would look at her like she was made of the most precious glass on the planet.

It was very hard to separate the two when the time would inevitably come. Such a devotion at such an age initially worried both Hopper and Karen, especially Karen who knew almost nothing of the history between the two. But she saw how Mike was around her and eventually came to accept it because she had got her son back in the process.

Although people thought Ted had no interest in his family, he was immensely proud of his son even if he couldn't show it and even sat Mike down one night in the basement to Mike's utter amazement and even gave him a few pointers. He too had seen the positive influence the Chief's new adopted daughter had on him.

Mike couldn't sleep even if he wanted too, the grace of the creature was upon his chest was too radiant to ignore,, he gently stroked her curls, gently running his fingers through the long locks on her brown hair. Unbeknownst to Mike, Eleven had been wide awake for a while, simply basking in the attention she was receiving from Mike's fingers.

Her eyelids fluttered open to look up at Mike who stiffened upon realizing that she was awake and with his hands roving through her hair. Despite the fact they had sex months ago Mike was still scared shitless of messing something up.

"Hi" she whispered smiling shyly. She took one of his hands gently and interlocked her fingers with his.

"Hi" he whispered back with a small dopey smile. "I didn't wake you did I?" Mike asked his voice still hushed, his fingers slowly made their way down from her hair gently brushing her neck.

"No, was already awake, not tired, missed you" she said simply. Although her vocabulary and sentences were improving all the time, she sometimes still ended up reverting to her old speech pattern especially around Mike.

"I missed you too" he said his voice low, his eyes were full of fire as he gently stroked her cheek before leaning in to seal their lips together in a blissful kiss. They pulled apart once oxygen became a problem, they gently rubbed their noses together.

This particular night the nightmares were worse than usual, she dreamt of the Upside-down, of the Mind Flayer within the storms of red lightning as it leered towards extending its tentacle like appendages towards her. She bolted awake sweat pouring down her forehead, she wasted no time in pulling on a jacket and shoes before biking her way to Mikes which she had learned to ride in the last six months.

She would then simply levitate herself through the window, before climbing into Mike's bed and wrapping his arms around her. Revelling in the warmth that was Mike Wheeler.

She giggled as their noses touched.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned

"Bad" she said in a broken sort of tone "hold me?" she asked him.

"Always" he said bringing her to him, closing the last few centimetres between their bodies. They eventually managed to fell asleep like that, in the comfort of the one they loved.

Deeply.

Dangerously.

Desperately.

In Love.

The humanoid sprinted through the dense and slimy undergrowth of the Upside-Down, he used his blade to cut and tear through the vines which recoiled at the shimmering metal of the blade, burnt by its mere touch.

The humanoid dared to look behind him. He wished he hadn't.

The storm of Red Lightning was baring down on him, the flashes of red lit up the Mind Flayer that lay within its cocoon of cloud and shadow. Its faceless form leered down at him. Hoping to destroy this Celestial as it had so many others before it.

The Humanoid spun on the spot, his blade held high ready to stand his ground as futile as it most likely was. He bowed his head muttering under his breath before his eyes lit up to a shinning and shimmering blue. He raised his free arm towards the sky where the dense cloud above him started to shift and dissipate.

For the first time in hundreds of years the Upside-Down felt sunlight break through the surface. Just enough Sunlight to give the Mind Flayer pause as a small beam of Sunlight lay between itself and the Celestial.

The Humanoid smirked to himself as he allowed bolts of blue energy to fly from his fingertips towards the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer absorbed the bolts with a mere flinch. The Humanoid cursed under his breath as he witnessed the clouds above him reforming encompassing the Upside-down in darkness once more.

The Humanoid decided to do a tactical retreat otherwise known as running as fast as the fuck he could away from the Mind Flayer which was now in hot pursuit. The Humanoid had to think fast, he needed to escape but how? All the fountains of Earth had been destroyed meaning their was no natural access to Earth anymore.

It was simple, he was going to have to create a portal himself. Using the majority of his energies to do so.

He sheathed his blade and lifted his hands, allowing the grace of his being to swirl around him, his eyes shone an intense bright blue as he directed his energies to a tree in front of him, a slimy and vein infested portal opened up. The Mind Flayer was now mere seconds away from destroying him, he dove towards the portal, crawling through it as fast as he could emerging the other side into a crisp and clear air of Earth.

He spun round, weakly raising his hand to close the portal as black smoke began to seep its way through to Earth. He heard the faint echo's of an angered screech before the portal closed up like it was never there. The humanoid glanced up at the sign before him, barely able to make out the words as his eyes refused to focus before he collapsed unconscious, his energies expended.

The sign read.

WELCOME TO HAWKINS.

(A/N) and we here we go again people, be prepared for death, death and (looks down to list) more death lol im only joking with you guys, I have no deaths planned… yet ;)

I hope this sequel will live up to expectations and to the legacy of Beauty of Annihilation.

And IDK if you read this make an account so we can talk lol

As always guys review! And until next time, peace!