AN: Hi everyone! Now before you ask, I know this isn't Part of Your World or Dark Side. I will get to them I promise! I love you all and thank you so much for your patience. I really do wish I had the time to write everyday because I miss it :-(
This is a Mileven one shot that I hope you will all enjoy! It is dedicated to a special someone, but more about that in the AN at the end :-D
I hope you like this one :-)
Love of My Life
The sunlight streaming into the freshly painted yellow bedroom threw a beam of light across the space, dust particles flickered in the air as El dropped a box onto her new bed, heaving a sigh of relief as the awkward and hefty cardboard left her grip.
Sweat had beaded at her brow which she lazily swept away, her gaze moved to the window, her hazel eyes narrowed as the wooden pane opened on her command, allowing the slight breeze to enter the room.
"If you wanted the window opening you could have just asked," came the teasing voice of Jonathan as he walked back into his old bedroom with another one of El's boxes.
She shrugged, a smirk of pride on her face, "just easier this way."
"Yeah I bet," Jonathan chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as he placed the second box on El's bed. He sighed in relief and looked around the room. "Are you excited about moving in?"
It was July 1986, Jonathan and Nancy were about to leave for college in New York and Joyce had enough of Hopper's not very suitable hints about moving in and insisted that he and El move into the Byers home. Jonathan had of course been more than happy about this arrangement, insisting he would stay in Will's room when he visited or with Nancy at the Wheeler house.
El found herself getting the family she had always wanted and a new bedroom to decorate. She looked around the room, taking in the soft yellow walls, the new white wood furniture as a happy exhale left her chest.
El turned to Jonathan who she had always seen as an older brother, and secretly wondered if one day he really would become that with the way Joyce and Hopper were going. "Yes, I am really excited about moving in," El answered with a smile that faltered slightly. "But are you sure you don't mind me having your bedroom?"
Jonathan laughed, "what am I going to do with it? It's yours now."
El breathed a sigh of relief, her last anxiety about taking over Jonathan's room finally leaving her. "Thank you. And thank you for helping me with the boxes, what with Joyce and dad working. And Mike - "
"And Mike having no upper body strength," Jonathan teased making El laugh.
"He does have upper body strength! He's just working too," E grinned playfully as she tore the tape off one of the boxes sat on her bed. "He's coming later though to help me unpack."
"Is that all of the boxes then?" Jonathan asked as he peaked around at the room filled with cardboard.
"Yeah I think so," El said absentmindedly as she opened the seal of the box and peaked inside, confusion furrowing her brow as she noticed a number of CD's and Vinyl's that definitely didn't look like her usual Madonna and Cyndi Lauper tracks.
Her eyes widened in realisation and a laugh escaped her throat, "I think I've got one of your boxes Jonathan."
He appeared by her side and took a peek into the box, smiling as he rifled through the contents. "Ah yeah these are definitely mine," he pulled out a white vinyl with a colour design on the cover.
"What is that?" El asked curiously, her fingers already reaching for the vinyl which Jonathan happily handed over.
Her hazel eyes flickered over the design which seemed to have a swam in the middle of two creatures that were almost like lions with wings wearing crowns, and two colourful fairies all surrounding a Q.
"Queen" El muttered as her fingers moved over the italic writing. She looked up at Jonathan who was admiring the vinyl with pride. "Who is Queen?"
El startled when Jonathan looked up at her so sharply he would have cracked his neck. He blinked at her multiple times as if he couldn't comprehend her words and El felt her cheeks immediately heat with embarrassment.
"Queen is only like the the greatest British rock band of all time," Jonathan whispered, his voice hoarse from the shock that El hadn't even heard of them. "Their songs are so powerful, so imaginative, so masterfully created!"
El didn't know whether to frown with concern at how animated Jonathan had become or laugh in amusement. She looked down at the vinyl again, biting her lower lip as curiosity peaked inside of her.
"Can you play it?"
It took quicker than El could have ever expected for Jonathan to unpack his vinyl player and set it back up. She sat on the edge of her bed, watching on with a smile as Jonathan carefully placed the disc in the player. He turned to her with baited breath, "are you ready?"
El wanted to roll her eyes with teenage sass but instead nodded her head, urging him to play this Queen music.
"Okay we are starting with probably the greatest Queen song there ever was," Jonathan said with a large grin, unable to keep the giddy excitement out of his voice as he moved the needle.
El expected a musical introduction and blinked in surprise when what sounded like multiple male voices boomed through the bedroom, their voices almost distorted but powerful.
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see. I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy. Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me…"
For five minutes and fifty five seconds Jonathan rocked away to one of his favourite songs while El sat completely still, her eyes widening, her ears pricking as the complex musicality of Bohemian Rhapsody took over her. The changing genres, the guitar solos, the piano, the voices, the high pitched tempos were electrifying her blood as goose bumps rose to her bare arms.
"So?" Jonathan asked breathlessly after almost six minutes of head banging and animated dancing. "What did you think?"
El blinked, her throat dry and her eyes still wide as she turned to look at her brother. "That was...magic." Jonathan grinned in agreement, his eyes sparkling as El jumped up from the edge of the bed and began walking towards the vinyl player. "I want to listen to it again," she said in exhilaration.
"I think this is going to be the start of something very special," Jonathan teased as he grabbed the rest of his Queen collection.
The gravel crunched under the tyres of Mike's car as he pulled up to the Byers house. He would have thought no one was home if it wasn't for the music that he could hear being blasted even from outside as he slowly pushed open the car door.
He frowned in confusion, listening to a drum beat and synth keyboard combination that sounded very familiar. Mike looked around expecting to see Jonathan's car, this certainly seemed like the kind of music he would listen to.
Mike shook his head, bewilderment written all over his face as he locked his car and walked hesitantly to the house. A male voice was now singing along to the catchy beat as Mike walked through the lounge, heading towards El's new bedroom. The music was so loud he felt as if he could be at a concert.
"El?" Mike called as loudly as he could to no response. He tried not to let his anxiety get ahead of himself as he picked up the pace to her room.
The door was pulled ajar and Mike gulped down a ball of nerves as he slowly pushed it open, his heart in his throat at what he might find.
He immediately froze in surprise for a moment when the room came into view. There was still a number of boxes around but the mess didn't take Mike by surprise, that was expected considering the move.
No, what surprised Mike was his girlfriend in the middle of her room dancing, jumping up and down as she unpacked some fairy lights, singing at the top of her lungs over the loud musical beat.
"All we hear is radio ga ga, radio goo goo, radio ga ga! All we hear is radio ga ga, radio blah blah, radio what's new? Radio someone still loves you!"
Mike blinked in surprise, not expecting to find El rocking out to who he now realised was the band Queen. He found a smile curving his lips as he leaned against the door panel, crossed his arms and watched his girlfriend lovingly.
Her shoulders were bopping and she was rocking her head as she untangled the fairy lights and climbed on top of her bed, unable to stop from singing and dancing as she started to hook the lights onto the tags Hopper had put up for her.
"All we hear is radio ga ga, radio goo goo, radio ga ga!"
Mike's heart was fluttering as he happily watched El, completely captivated by her as she danced around; beautiful, elegant, free. Sometimes it was hard to see past all the traumas she had experienced, and yet here she was, singing her heart out, her whole body alive with the musicality of the song she was listening to. She was incredible and Mike knew he would never get over how strong she was.
The music was slowly coming to an end, the instruments still providing a fun and techno beat as it faded away. El was still humming to the song and Mike realised he was still standing by the door and hadn't announced himself yet.
He shook his head slightly to clear his mind from the muddled fluffliness that always took over him when he was in the presence of his girlfriend. Mike knocked gently at El's door so as to not startle her and smiled when she turned to look.
"Need a hand?"
"Mike!" El exclaimed, her voice a happy trill as she jumped off the bed and rushed over to him. Mike had his arms open long before she collided with his chest, knocking the wind out of him as her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face into his neck.
A wide grin played on Mike's lips and his eyes sparkled as he brought her closer and pressed a kiss to her hair, breathing her in with a happy sigh.
"Hi," he said intently, his voice quiet and soft.
El pulled back just enough to look at Mike, their eyes locking as her smile stretched beautifully across her dimpled cheeks. "Hi," she replied breathlessly before tugging her boyfriend forward, their lips pressing lightly as butterflies fluttered throughout their bodies, the exhilaration of getting to be like this together never having worn off.
They slowly pulled away and Mike looked around the room, impressed with the progress El had made despite her clear distraction. His dark amber eyes flickered to the vinyl player and he couldn't help but smile almost in confusion.
"You've been listening to Queen?"
El's eyes widened with excitement as she nodded her head. "Mike they are so good! Do you like them?"
Mike coughed uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his heated neck with the palm of his hand. "Um, well I haven't really listened to a lot of Queen. But the ones I heard were good…" He had never felt like his lack of Queen pop culture was something to be ashamed of until he was met by his enthusiastic and beautiful girlfriend finding such clear excitement from the music.
"What's your favourite Queen song?" El asked as she picked up the vinyl covers, her eyes scouring over the listed tunes.
"Um…" Mike quickly racked his brains for an answer as he stepped closer to El, his gaze hurrying to the vinyls to try and spot a title that stuck out to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when one of them took him back to a song that he genuinely liked and hadn't heard for some time.
He smiled as he extended his finger and pointed to the song. "That one," he said calmly, curiosity raising inside of him as he wondered whether El had heard it yet.
"Somebody To Love," El read out, her lips curving into a smile as she took in the words and looked up at Mike, her eyes filled with warmth.
"Go on," he couldn't help but chuckle as his heart squeezed with love. "Play it."
El bit her lip trying to control her smile as she carefully placed the disc into the vinyl player and set the needle. She stepped back, entranced by the stunning harmonies and the soft piano that started the song.
Mike watched her as she took in the music for a moment, her eyes fluttered closed as she really felt the song, she truly was beautiful. Mike released the breath he didn't realise he was holding as he reached for El's hand, making her look up in surprise as he pulled her closer.
El beamed as she wrapped her arms around Mike's neck while his palms moved to her waist and they swayed slightly, laughing giddily at their actions. They grinned at each other and El giggled as the music started to build and lift as Mike started to nod his head along with the beat.
"Find me somebody to love, find me somebody to love..." Mike began to chant along with the song, El grinning as she joined in too, both of them swaying ridiculously as they just moved with the flow of the music. A mixture of slow dancing and head shaking as they laughed and kissed.
"I should probably help you unpack otherwise your dad is going to pissed," Mike said as the music started to fade and they once again pulled away from each other.
El looked around her new room and the four boxes that were left to unpack. She poised her lips for a moment, deep in thought before smiling and turning back to Mike. "We can unpack and dance at the same time."
All Mike could do to object that this was a bad idea was open his mouth to speak before El had turned on the next Queen song. This one had an undeniable beat and he couldn't stop stamping his foot in time with the drums as he headed to one of the boxes El instructed him to and started unpacking her school text books.
Mike looked up at El from where she was pumping her fist in the air singing "we will, we will, rock you!" and he couldn't help but grin in amazement, shaking his head that this was all real. That he got to experience this with her. He was hit with a wave of gratitude and found himself acting the fool just to make El laugh.
When Another One Bites The Dust started Mike pretended to play the bass, moving his fingers how he imagined he would to the funky beat.
"Hey we should all start a band or something!" Mike called to El over the music as she started to put away her eyeshadows. His eyes lingered on the blue eyeshadow for a moment and he grinned as he remembered her buying it at the Starcourt Mall the summer before. That was before the Mall became host to a battle of course.
"What instrument would I play?" El asked eagerly as she closed her vanity table drawer and turned in her chair to watch Mike.
"Whatever you want to," he replied smiling away as he nodded to the beat and moved more books onto El's shelf.
"Piano?" she asked hopefully, her eyes widening with hope.
"Of course," Mike couldn't help but smile softly as he walked over to El and pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her grin ear to ear. "You can do whatever you want."
El sighed happily and reached for Mike before he could move away. Her soft palm moved against his cheek and he leaned into her touch, closing his eyes for a moment and exhaling softly.
"Thank you," she whispered so tenderly that Mike opened his eyes, searching her own gaze in confusion.
"What for?"
"For everything. For dancing and singing with me while we unpack. For not thinking I'm being stupid or something," El shrugged.
Mike laughed and shook his head, "you are not stupid," he said sternly looking deep into her hazel eyes and hoping she would believe him. A smirk lifted his lips, "and you've got great taste in music, so if I'm going to dance and sing around your room, it may as well be to Queen."
El smiled widely, her pearly teeth visible as she looked up at Mike with so much love and gratitude that he was momentarily choked by a flood of emotions straight to his heart.
"Well I'm glad you said that because there's plenty I haven't even listened to yet," El gushed, stepping up from the chair, intent on hurrying over to the vinyl player, but stopping herself to turn to her boyfriend and kiss his cheek.
Mike touched the spot she had kissed, warmth spreading to his skin as he grinned and watched her avidly picking the next track. "Here we go," he chuckled to himself.
The setting sun bathed El's room in golden light which was only amplified by the fairy lights that strung around every wall making her feel like her whole bedroom was sparkling. But nothing was more thrilling than Mike singing along with her to Queen, the unpacking finally finished.
The springs in El's new mattress creaked slightly as they both jumped onto the bed, their bare feet finding grip on the pink comforter as they sang their hearts out, butterflies exploding in El's heart every time Mike tried to reach the high notes and then burst into laughter. His laughter was like liquid gold, and El didn't think she had ever seen him let loose like this before. It was breathtaking.
"I'm burning through the sky yeah! Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit! I'm travelling at the speed of light!" Mike sang into El's hair brush that she threw to him, unable to contain her giggles as his voice broke but he carried on.
Mike grinned as he pointed at El while she danced next to him, "I wanna make a supersonic woman of you!"
The room was stifling with heat as they continued to dance and sing, their hair a mess from the head banging and a slight sheen of sweat on their skin as they continued to laugh and move to the beat.
Time didn't occur to them, even when Hopper stood in the doorway, his jaw dropping open as he watched his daughter dancing around her bedroom with her dorky boyfriend. Before the Chief could interrupt, desperate to know what was possessing them to play music as loud as this, let alone have a full concert in the bedroom. But it was Joyce's calming hand on Hopper's shoulder, gently guiding him away from El and Mike that finally distracted him enough to leave the teens to their musical antics.
It was almost an hour later when El and Mike collapsed onto her bedroom floor right next to the vinyl player, both of them out of breath from the dancing, and laughing at the absurdity of it all.
"Maybe we should start a band," Mike blurted out, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath.
El laughed in amusement, turning onto her side as she watched Mike. Her eyes lingering over the steady rise and fall of his chest, the way his messy dark locks were even more tangled and the pink colour in his usually pale cheeks that made his freckles even more evident.
Her bedroom was filling with shadows from the darkened sky, but the fairylights and floor lamp by her bookshelf lifted the shapes away, bathing the room in a golden warmth.
A soft piano melody began to play from the vinyl, rich and beautiful as El lifted her head and looked over at the disc carefully turning. She wasn't even sure it was Queen until Freddie's powerful voice sang gently, with feeling, with love.
"Love of my life you've hurt me. You've broken my heart and now you leave me. Love of my life can't you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me, because you don't know what it means to me…"
"This is beautiful," El whispered in awe, the power of his words rushing through her veins and making her feel as if her heart was in her throat.
"It is," Mike murmured in agreement, turning on his side to face El. Their fingers met in the middle and entwined perfectly, like the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
They both listened to the words, a heaviness filling the air around them as El shuddered with emotion and looked up at Mike to find he was already gazing at her, their eyes finding each other immediately.
"Love of my life don't leave me. You've taken my love, you now desert me. Love of my life can't you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me, because you don't know what it means to me."
"What's wrong?" Mike asked El softly, his eyes filling with concern as he took in the water glaze that filled the hazel orbs he loved so dearly.
El shook and gulped down the anxiety that plagued her voice. "I just...did you ever feel like I deserted you? When...when I…"
"When you were in hiding?" Mike answered in a whisper as his hand carefully moved to El's cheek, his thumb brushing away the tear that had escaped her lower lashes. She didn't speak but slowly nodded her head.
"No," Mike exhaled honestly, his eyes dancing over El's face, taking in her beautiful features, everything that made her who she was. "I always knew you would come back to me. There were times when I started to lose faith...but little things would happen, and I don't know, I just felt you close."
"You will remember when this is blown over, and everything's all by the way. When I grow older I will be there at your side to remind you how I still love you. I still love you…"
"I was always there," El whispered, her voice shaky with emotion as she searched the vulnerability in Mike's eyes. The pain that had always lingered there from calling out to her for 353 days. "I was always by your side."
A soft smile started to curve on Mike's lips as he shuffled closer to El, his hand still cupping her cheek as their foreheads met, their breaths mingled together in one. Their gazes slowly found each other as Mike whispered, "I love you. I loved you back then when I didn't even understand what it meant. And I always will love you El. You are the love of my life."
El couldn't help the happy laughter that bubbled up inside of her from the irony of Mike's words while the beautiful song played. But as she looked at her love, no words were truer. No one would ever mean to her what Mike did.
So with an exhale of relief and contentment, El smiled and brushed her lips to her soulmates, feeling the electricity rush through her body. "And you are the love of my life Mike."
"Oh hurry back, hurry back, don't take it away from me. Because you don't know what it means to me. Love of my life. Love of my life…"
AN: This is written for and dedicated to the love of MY life. It's a belated birthday gift and you know why it's late but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :-)
Who would have thought that I would find you through writing and this fandom? Who would have thought that the love of my life was one of my best friends? And that we would end up meeting and falling in love the way we did :-)
I love you, I wouldn't change a thing of our journey and I wrote this with you in mind throughout. I hope it's the Mileven fluff you wanted with the things you love wrapped inside of it :-D
Happy belated birthday! I love you Tom xxx
And to everyone else who has took the time to read this Mileven one shot, thank you so much for reading! :-D I hope you enjoyed it, especially if you are fans of Queen. And if you have never heard of them (I won't judge) please go and listen to their songs!
And please leave me a comment! :-D (Cheeky I know)