Author's Note: So my life has effectively been ruined by season 2, and I haven't been able to get my mind off of how adorable El and Mike's relationship is (as well as El's relationship with Hopper), so here's a little oneshot I threw together because I couldn't stop thinking about them. I might add more chapters so I can write about what happens after the end of the season, but I'm probably gonna save those ideas for a multi-chapter fic because I really like how this turned out.
He hadn't known what he'd been expecting when the locks slid open, and looking back, he had no fucking clue why he'd thought a cup was a perfect defense item, but the fear had taken away all his logic. Seeing Bob be eaten to death by the demodogs or whatever it was Dustin kept insisted that they be called was traumatic. Almost as traumatic as losing El.
No, that was a lie. Nothing was as traumatic as losing her. Nothing was as traumatic as falling deeply in love with someone, promises that when everything was said and done, they'd be together and he'd keep her safe, and they'd be happy, only to have her disintegrate into thin air, and for him to never know what had happened, if she was okay, or if she was even alive still. For 353 days, he'd called her, desperately hoping for some sign that she still existed somewhere. By day 33, he was convinced he was crazy for continuing to do so. But he never gave up, even when all hope seemed to be lost.
And then the Byers' front door opened, and the first thing he noticed, because he'd been too afraid to look whatever it was in the eyes, was the battered white converse. At that, he looked up. And saw her. El. His El.
A sob rose in his throat as he quickly moved towards her, and she towards him, and they embraced, both saying the other's name as if was the best sound to ever exist in the universe. The tears fell onto his cheeks and she wrapped his arms tight around him, and he instantly knew that she'd been longing for this moment just as desperately as he had. The tension in the room seemed to dissipate; everyone else knew to keep quiet - Well, except for Max, but Lucas and Dustin quickly shut her up (why, exactly, she was here in the first place was beyond him, but he was too invested in El to care right now).
After too short of a hug, he pulled away, and looked at her, a million emotions running through his mind all at once. "I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for - "
"Three hundred and fifty three days." She finished. "I heard."
He stared at her in confusion. "Why... why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper's voice suddenly cut in, erasing the feeling that she and him were the only two people on the world. The chief came forward.
"What the hell is this? Where have you been?" He asked Eleven.
"Where have you been?" She retorted as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head.
Mike's happiness to finally see El again was quickly replaced by anger now, and before he knew it, he was yelling at the chief, calling him a lying piece of shit and hitting him. He was only vaguely aware that he'd been taking into another room to discuss the matter in private, though the walls of the Byers' home were so thin that he was pretty sure everyone else could still hear what was going on. Hopper kept saying it was for her own protection, but all Mike could think about was all the pain he'd felt over the past year, never knowing if she was safe, never knowing if she was alive, never knowing if he'd see her again. His entire life had fallen apart since her disappearance, and Hopper had known. He'd known the whole time. He'd been able to come home to her every day. He'd known.
Eventually, he was able to calm a bit, though he had no idea how he managed it, but when he came out and joined El and the rest of them, there was no time for catching up or more hugs. Hawkins (and quite possibly the rest of the world) was on the brink of collapse. And it was up to El to save them all again.
The fear once more came back, only this time it was complete terror that made him just want to scream and cry and find some way to make it all stop without her having to do anything, because she'd already sacrificed so much for them, and he honestly wasn't sure he could handle another day without her. But there was no other option.
Plans were made: Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy would go to Hopper's cabin (where he'd been hiding El) to try and burn the Mind Flayer our of Will while Hopper himself and El would make a trip to Hawkins' Lab so El could close the gate to the Upside Down. And Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Steve would stay at the Byers', waiting for everything to be done and over with. Mike, needless to say, was not happy with this plan, but he also didn't want Will to suffer any longer, and hopefully, once this monster was dealt with, he and El could really be happy, and things would finally settle down for once.
So, he reluctantly agreed and while Jonathan carried Will to the car, he and El said goodbye. The irony of the fact that only half an hour had passed since she'd walked in the front door was not lost on him, and as they hugged, it took every ounce of strength he had to not insist that he come with. The thought of being apart from her for a second longer was unbearable.
"Just be careful, alright?" He said. "I can't lose you again."
She shook her head. "You won't lose me."
"Do you promise?" He didn't know why he still believed in the word, because all the promises he'd made to her last year before she'd defeated the demogorgon had been broken, but something told him that if she said it, then it must be true.
"Promise." She looked at him with tear-filled eyes and then began to lean in for a kiss, but Hopper had other plans for them.
"El. Come on, let's go. It's time."
Eleven looked back at him for a brief second and then walked over to the truck, hesitantly getting in. It was the very last thing either of them wanted, and as Mike stood on the front porch and watched as Hopper drove away, he couldn't help but start to count the seconds until they could be together again.
This time, hopefully, for good.