JANUARY 25 1985

Unlike most days of Mike and Eleven spending time with each other, on this Monday they ended up falling asleep on her bed. Mike was tired from school and El was tired from the extra learning she had to do as a request from Hopper.

El naturally fell asleep on Mike, resting her head on his chest while he had his arms around her.

Before El knew it she woke up, slowly picking her head up and opening her eyes to see Mike sleeping like a baby. She lightly broke away from the hold that his arms had around her so she could stand up out of bed and stretch.

El felt relieved and calm. The nap put her brain in a stress free place as she sat down in one of her chairs and continued to study Mike innocently sleeping.

There was just something so beautiful and intriguing about watching Mike sleep. He showed no anger, no sadness, no happiness; he was just there. El didn't want to wake him up so she quietly exited her room and made eggos.

Hopper was asleep in his recliner, but the noise El had been making woke him up. He got up and saw El eating eggos at the table. He wiped his eyes as he looked at El, still feeling groggy.

"El?"

"Yes?" El said as she hurried up and finished the rest of her eggos.

"It's… It's 8:40 PM, did Mike go home?" Hopper wondered while looking at his watch to tell the time.

"No."

"Um. Why not?"

"He's sleeping still," El casually replied while sipping a glass of water.

Hopper obviously didn't want Mike in the cabin past 8:00. And being that he just woke up, he was in an extra grumpy mood.

"OK, well wake him up and tell him to go home!" Hopper raised his voice.

El stood up and took steps towards Hopper. She gave him a hug and he felt forced to hug her back. She broke the hug up and gave him an unusual look of innocence with puppy dog eyes.

"I want him to stay the night. Please?" El asked as she looked up at Hopper, having desperation in her voice.

"First of all, no way. And second, if he was to stay the night, I'd have to call his parents and tell him about you. And you know I can't do that. You remember what Dr. Owens said?"

"Yes," El responded in an annoyed tone.

"Then you know it's impossible for Mike to stay the night. Maybe someday in the future, but not now," Hopper said as he playfully rubbed his hand through her hair.

El wanted to stay upset, but Hopper knew weird things that would put a smile on her face and cheer her up. Still, the upset feeling lingered as she walked back to her room and attempted to get Mike up.

El shook Mike's body, making him tiredly hum.

"Mike, get up, you have to leave."

"No," Mike barely said as he attempted to ignore her demand.

"I'm serious, Mike. It's almost 9 o'clock. Hopper said you have to leave!" El reiterated to him.

"Noooooooooo," Mike said, still half asleep with his eyes closed.

"Yeeeeess," El giggled as she took the pillow out underneath him and hit him with it.

"Stooooop," Mike begged as he started to realize he would not be able to continue sleeping in peace.

He opened his eyes to the beautiful sight of his girlfriend. She couldn't help but smile when she saw his eyes glaring up at her. Mike was still hesitant to get up. El was getting worried that Hopper would come in the room and yell at Mike, and the last thing she wanted was those two going at it.

"Come on, get up, Hopper's gonna get mad!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Hopper loves me!"

El shook her head and chuckled. She was starting to get annoyed of Mike saying no though.

"Get up now, before Hopper comes in here and drags you out."

Mike extended his arms out to stretch and let out a yawn. He stunned El with his perfect face as his eyes stared into hers.

"A few kisses could really motivate me to get up," Mike said, basically begging her to kiss him without outright saying it.

El could've said no, should've said no, but she really couldn't. He looked too adorable to refuse. She leaned down to quickly smooch his lips two times. Mike expected more but she leaned up, much to his disappointment.

"That's it?"

El chuckled and shouted back at him.

"You said a couple!"

"OK. How about three more, but they have to be good," Mike requested while having puppy dog eyes.

El had her arms crossed, eyeing him up with shame as she began asking questions in her head.

El wasn't questioning whether or not she would give him those three kisses, because she definitely would. She was wondering how Mike had this power over her that nobody else had, including Hopper. She wondered why he chose her and not some normal girl. But the one thing she wondered about the most was the feeling she currently had while looking at Mike who had that precious smile. It was a feeling that she didn't know how to describe. That feeling was love.

El nodded her head and gave Mike the first kiss. It was fairly quick but longer than a normal smooch.

The second kiss featured Mike keeping his puckered lips on El's for a good ten seconds before releasing. El giggled in pleasure.

The third kiss surprised El. It seemed like the usual smooching, until Mike slipped his tongue between her slightly parted lips and into her mouth, making El open her eyes in shock. She instinctively parted her lips even more to make it easier for his tongue.

El naturally used her tongue in response to his as their tongues clashed together. The sloppy French kissing got more intense which made El forget about the three kiss rule. She kept letting him kiss her, enjoying it too much to simply stop. They would alternate between innocent smooches and aggressive tonsil hockey for a minute. Mike finally broke it off, having heart eyes as he stared at El with a big smile.

El was lost at first, not knowing where she was or why she was there. Then she remembered.

oh yeah, Mike has to go home.

El tried to go back to her normal self, but the way Mike was smiling at her made it really hard.

"O-OK Mike, time to get up."

"You know what? Forget me getting up, I need you in bed with me," Mike replied and El actually thought about taking him up on that.

But she was a good girl at heart, regardless of Mike's influence on her, she was able to resist him.

"Mike!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm getting up. See? Happy now?" Mike said as he stood up and had that smirk that El couldn't help but laugh at.

They both stood in silence as they admired each other's faces. Hopper walked in on the two, making Mike and Eleven break off their stares with one another as they turned their bodies towards Hopper.

"You gonna leave?" Hopper asked.

Mike could see that Hopper was hiding that tiny bit of rage, and he didn't want to be the one that made him unleash it.

"Yes… sir. Just talking to El a bit before I go…"

"Well hurry up. Don't need your parents getting any more suspicious than they already are," Hopper replied as he walked out of the room.

Mike and El returned their smiles to each other. Mike put a hand on the side of her face, making her blush. Mike was unable to hold in his chuckle.

"You are a really good girl, El. You really know how to motivate me. You are the best girlfriend."

El already knew he felt this way about her, but at the same time, hearing it from his mouth made her all warm and fuzzy. She passionately kissed his cheek, making him blush as he looked down and scratched his head while giggling at the feeling he had in his stomach.

"Oh, Mike. I'm so glad I'm yours."

El embraced Mike with a sweet hug that she desperately needed at that moment. Mike had his arms around her, holding her tight in order to make her feel safe.

"Yes. You're mine, El. But you're also your own person, you know that right?"

"I know who I am. I'm yours, Mike," El doubled down as she rested her head into Mike's chest.

Mike felt so lucky to find a girl who cared about him like she did. He was not going to lose her again if he could help it. He would die for her, because he knows El deserves everything. She is everything to him. Without her, his life is meaningless. But together, the world can't stop them. Side by side, it would always feel like home wherever they went.