Chapter 13:

Mike knew that he was still pretty young to be getting married, but his own parents had married very young. It wasn't that weird when he thought about it, but it still felt like something they should wait for. However, Eleven was just so excited about it, he found it hard to say no to her. Either way, he wasn't going to bring it up again unless she mentioned it, so he hoped it would just linger in the back of her mind for now.

Dustin was released from the hospital a week later, and they had a small gathering at Mike's place with all of the old gang. Even Will came, needing a break from his mother gushing over her future grandchild that Nancy was carrying around. Mike didn't really want to talk about it either, since he didn't want to think about his older sister having sex with Will's older brother. It was a little weird.

Lucas brought some drinks with him to have a little bit of extra fun that night, and Mike put in some old movies. For awhile, they sat around watching cheesy horror flicks, which seemed to bother Eleven very little. Perhaps her reality was much more terrifying than watching any movie on a tiny screen. Her face remained stoic throughout the movies, except for when she saw something that interested her.

After the second movie, they ordered pizza and sat around the little dining table together with a deck of cards. It kind of reminded Mike of when they were young and used to play dungeons and dragons in his basement. Part of him wished they had never grown up and out of the things they used to enjoy so much together, but he knew it wasn't a choice to age. Everyone got older, and everyone changed when they got older. Almost everyone. He looked to Eleven. She was as pure and innocent as when he met her, though she looked older, she was pretty much the same on the inside.

"So Hopper seems to think all of this will be over soon," Will noted as they shuffled the deck. "He told my mom that, at least, but maybe he said it just to get her to stop panicking. She thinks our house is going to get shot up next."

"I fear for the lives of anyone that tries to shoot up your house," Dustin joked. "I can already see your mom walking out with a sawed off shotgun and blowing some heads off." They all chuckled a bit at that, except Mike. The image of it brought back some unpleasant memories.

"She's a real firecracker, that woman," Lucas tsked. "You should've seen her when you were gone. Everyone tried to tell her you were dead, but she never accepted that." They all had a deep respect for both Joyce and Hopper. After everything they all went through together, it was hard not to. They saved Will, and Hopper saved Eleven. Or tried to, at least.

"Yeah, Johnathan told me about it," Will nodded. "Said she was pretty crazy."

"I guess we'll get like that one day. When we have kids," Mike piped up in the conversation. "I mean... Knowing all of the shit we do, and everything that's out there. We'll probably seem crazy and over protective to our kids. It'll be hard to convince them the monsters under their bed aren't real when... when we've seen them." No one laughed at that, but they all nodded in agreement. Eleven looked at the ground, and Mike noticed her solemn expression. Probably not the best idea to bring up kids right now. Not so soon.

"So what're we playing now?" Lucas asked, setting the deck in the center of the table.

"Blackjack?" Dustin suggested.

"Could play go fish. That's pretty easy to teach El," Will said, shooting a smile her way. Eleven nodded, thinking that whatever it was, if it was easy to learn, that's the game she wanted to play. "You just match the cards in your hand, and if you need something, you pick someone to ask. If they don't have what you need to match, they say 'go fish' and you draw a card from the deck."

"I'll help her," Mike said, picking up the deck to start handing cards out. "Me and El can share a deck for the first couple of games." They all agreed with Mike, and they played a few games like that. Eleven moved over into Mike's lap at one point, curling up there and holding the cards with him right behind her to help her and give advice on what she should ask for or pair up. It was nice, and everyone seemed happy for the first time in awhile. There didn't seem to be anything to fear or fight or worry about in that moment. It was like old times, growing up together, playing games at Mike's and waiting for their curfews.

Once Will had taken everyone home, Mike and Eleven retired to the bedroom. Mike had a little buzz from drinking with the guys, and it left a soft, barely noticeable fuzziness in his head that did very little other than relax him. He shed his tee shirt and pants, then slid into bed beside El, relaxing back against the pillow and taking a deep breath.

Eleven moved right up against his side, laying her head there on his shoulder and staring up at the ceiling. Things were quiet lately, and while she was grateful that nothing was going wrong and no one was getting hurt, it made her a little nervous. Those bad men from the lab were never the type to give up. Not once. Not ever. She hoped they weren't planning anything, and that it would just be over finally after all these years.

"What's on your mind?" Mike asked, noticing that she was being quieter than usual. He brushed her hair from her face so he could see her expression better at the angle they were laying together. She shrugged her shoulders and rolled onto her stomach to look him in the eyes.

"Nothing."

"Come on, I know you well enough by now, El," he smiled softly, brushing his thumb along her shoulder. "I know the face you make when you're thinking about something. As cute as it is, sometimes it concerns me. So... what is it?"

"Worried," she admitted with a sigh. "That's it." He understood that feeling, and he knew exactly what she meant. When things got quiet, he got worried, too. The men from the lab and the Demogorgons were all still out there, and when it was calm, it felt like something was just lurking around the corner, waiting for them.

"Don't worry for now. I trust Hopper. He's taking care of it," Mike told her, though he wasn't sure if he really believed that himself. It was hard to believe it would all just be over, though that's what he wished for everyday. It just didn't seem that easy. "How do I make you feel better?" He asked her with a small grin. She looked up like she was thinking about an answer.

"Kiss me," she finally told him.

"Kiss you? You sure that will work?" He chuckled. Eleven smiled at him and nodded excitedly. "Well, I guess I have no choice, then," he teased, sitting up so he could take her face in his hands and press his lips to hers. He held them there for a long while, hand sliding back to bury itself in her short brown waves. His fingers tangled there. When he went to pull back, Eleven moved closer, kissing him again, harder, her own hands grabbing at his shoulders.

Their tongues danced together to the beautiful rhythm that they seemed to create together each and every time they kissed, something that sparked that feeling between them, that magical romantic dance of every piece and part of them, mind, body and soul. It all seemed to meld together in those melodic moments, like two halves of a whole they had been separated for too long. Now, they would make sure to never be torn apart again.

After a moment, Eleven reached for his boxers, but Mike quickly grabbed her hand to stop her. He sat up, breaking the kiss so he could catch his breath and look her in the eyes. She was confused and a little disappointed that he refused her. Her brow furrowed.

"Mike?"

"I just..." He trailed off with a sigh. "I think you should give your body... time to heal, El. It's a little soon after everything, and I don't want to hurt you." If he was careless with intimacy like he was before, he would only end up ultimately hurting El more, and that was something he definitely didn't want to risk. "I'm going to get Nancy to take you to the doctor and get some medicine that will help... prevent anymore problems."

"Medicine?"

"Yes, you just take a little pill once a day, and then we don't have to worry about it anymore," he explained. It was better this way. Better for El. He hated how hurt she was when she was laying in that hospital bed, how devastated she looked without even grasping the severity of it all. Nancy agreed to take Eleven to a lady doctor for him, so he was going to wait for that. "I'm sorry, El. Let's wait until after that, okay?"

She frowned, "Okay."

"Come here," He told her, extending his arm to welcome her back to his shoulder, where she had been laying before. Eleven rested her head there, throwing an arm over her bare abdomen and hugging him close to her. She felt like she had done something wrong, and Mike had to fix it for her. It wasn't a good feeling, but she said nothing more about it so they could just get some rest. "Don't worry about anything, El. I'll take care of you. I promised."

"I know," she nodded, hugging him a little tighter. "Goodnight, Mike."

"Goodnight, El."