A/N: Just a little note to say thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and likes on my first Stranger Things fic! The reception that it got has given me a new boost of confidence as a writer, and I can't wait to write even more fics for you, starting with this one. I'm still unsure how many chapters this fic will include, but please feel free to comment any suggestions for how you want the plot to develop, or what character pairings I should highlight! As always, comments are very much appreciated. Anyways, enjoy this first chapter of many!
"Where the fuck is she?"
"Hey, Wheeler, mind your language," retorted Steve with a glare, looking up at Mike. The teenager was pacing back and forth across the Byers' kitchen, the bandana from their earlier adventure into the tunnels still wrapped around his neck.
Mike stopped pacing to glare directly at Steve, who was lying on the couch and holding a tissue against his nose, which was still bleeding from his beating from Billy Hargrove. "You don't get it, Steve," Mike said, trying to retain his frustration. "I saw those things, I saw what they can do. God knows what they'll do to El if they find her."
Steve looked up at Mike and sighed. "They won't find her, alright? She's a fighter, and so is the Chief. They'll be fine. For God's sakes, just stop pacing."
"Steve's right, Mike," Dustin agreed, getting up off the floor and walking towards him. "Eleven can do literally anything, she can protect herself. Just let her do her thing." He was quiet for a few moments before adding, "And, uh, the pacing is actually a little bit annoying."
Mike just rolled his eyes and continued to pace back and forth, partly to annoy them further. They didn't understand. After over a year of wondering whether she was even alive or not, he had finally got El back in his life, and now the danger of her being taken away from him was present once more. He couldn't go through that again.
"Um, Mike?" Lucas interrupted Mike's train of thought from the kitchen table where he had been talking quietly to Max. Lucas pointed out the kitchen window, and Mike's eyes followed to find a set of car headlights shining through the house and lighting up the trail of paper sheets that still clung to every inch of the Byers' household.
"ELEVEN!" Mike roared. He flung open the door and bolted outside, not even caring about how freezing it was. But, to his disappointment, he found Jonathan's car instead. Nancy and Jonathan emerged from the front seats, completely dripping with sweat. Before Mike could ask them what the hell had happened, they had opened the side doors to help Joyce carry a limp and pale Will into the house.
Steve immediately got up from the couch when they came in, allowing Jonathan and Joyce to carefully lie Will down in his place. Joyce knelt down beside Will's head, stroking his soaking wet hair away from his face.
"You're gonna be okay, sweetie," she whispered, tears silently slipping down her cheeks. "You're safe now."
Jonathan and Nancy stood behind Joyce, completely speechless and exhausted. The rest of the Party joined Mike and gathered at Will's feet. They immediately started firing questions.
"What happened?" Lucas asked.
"Did he confront the Mind Flayer?" Dustin said.
"Have you heard from Hopper?" Mike pleaded.
Max stood beside Lucas in silence, unable to comprehend what the hell it was that she had gotten herself involved in.
"One at a time, guys! Jesus!" Steve sighed.
"It's gone," Joyce whispered eventually, patting Will's hand. "Whatever that thing was, it's out of him. He's gonna be okay. He just needs to rest."
Lucas nudged Dustin's side, both of them with smiles of relief on their faces. Max looked at Will sympathetically, the tension on her shoulders beginning to ease.
"And Eleven?" Mike asked, worry still on his face.
Joyce looked at him directly. "We haven't heard anything. Sorry, sweetie."
Mike gritted his teeth. He hated this - he hated not knowing what was going on. He just wished that they would come back. That she would come back.
At that moment, as if somebody was granting Mike's wish, he heard tires screeching outside the house. Unlike his delayed reaction from a few moments ago, Mike sprinted out the door before anyone could call his name. Sure enough, it was Hopper.
"Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?" he demanded, almost colliding with Hopper as he got out of the station wagon.
"Relax, kid, she's alright. She passed out for a bit afterwards, but she's alright. She did it." His voice was thick with emotion and disbelief. He opened the back seat door, to where Eleven was lying. Dried blood surrounded her nose and outer ears, but aside from that, she was absolutely fine. She was still his El.
Hopper carefully lifted her out of the back seat and into his arms, carrying her inside with Mike marching right beside them. Once inside, he laid her on the kitchen table. Mike instantly sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, grabbing El's hand in his.
"Stay with her for a second," Hopper ordered, "I need to talk to Joyce for a sec."
As if I'm gonna leave her now, Mike thought to himself, but he just nodded in response.
Mike recognised the hesitation to leave El on Hopper's face, but after a few moments, the Chief left the kitchen. After glancing into the living room to make sure that they were completely alone, Mike shook El's shoulder gently. "El. El, can you hear me?"
She opened her eyes ever so slightly. "Mike," she replied, her voice barely a whisper. Her throat felt as if it had been torn apart from all the screaming she had done whilst closing the gate. "I did it. I closed the gate."
Mike smiled. "Yeah, Hopper told me. I'm so proud of you, I knew you could do it."
"How's Will?" she whispered, her voice strained.
"He's okay, too. Everything is okay. You're safe now. And I'm not letting you go ever again."
El gave Mike a tired smile, which made his heart grow three times bigger. "Promise?" she asked, already losing consciousness again.
"Promise," Mike responded. He leaned in to press a quick but gentle kiss to her cheek, seconds before Hopper came back into the kitchen. Although he didn't fully see Mike doing it, he saw enough to feel the need to say something.
"Look kid," he started, pinching the bridge of his nose, "we'll talk about it in detail another time, but I just want to say this now - I know you care about her, but you need to remember that she's vulnerable. I don't want any funny business with you two, not for a couple of years at least. She's confused enough as it is."
Mike's cheeks went a slight pink as he realised what Hopper was implying. He reluctantly let go of El's hand and stood up from his chair.
"I would never hurt her, and I think I've proven that. I only want what's best for El. And as for taking advantage of her, I wouldn't even consider it. I just want her to be happy."
Hopper's eyes narrowed. "Hmm. Alright. Just know that I'm watching you, Wheeler."
Mike rolled his eyes slightly and was about to return to his seat beside El before Hopper spoke again.
"No, don't sit back down - come into the living room for a few minutes. We all have a few things to discuss."
Mike looked back at Hopper, standing his ground. "I'm not leaving her."
"Neither am I, kid," Hopper said with slight sarcasm. "We're gonna take her in too, obviously. We need to talk about how the fuck we're going to handle everything that's happened tonight."