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AN: Hi everyone!
On Instagram I read a few posts about what Mileven moments could come up in season 5. A few mentioned a monologue from El, like the love declaration from Mike.
That idea sticked with me, resulting in writing this one-shot how I imagine that moment could look like.
I hope you like it :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or storylines of the Stranger Things universe.
The world is a dark place sometimes, full of horrors and monsters. They loom in the shadows, waiting for a moment to strike, ever present, always there.
It always had been that way for El and it was as if that pattern would never end. She was fighting one monster, just so it could be replaced by an even greater horror: the Lab, Papa, the Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer, Vecna, the Upside Down.
But this time they planned to end it once and for all and after tonight everything would be over; they either defeated the evil or they would not be around anymore to watch it take over everything.
It was a risky plan that Nancy had suggested, but ultimately, they had all agreed to it. No matter how often they discussed each angle, there was just no other option. They would either save the world or die during the trial.
Every one of them was aware about the stake, but if anything, El knew she could always rely on her friends. Every single one of them had their role to play tonight, each being a part of a puzzle, and if just one piece would be missing, they would fail to accomplish the assignment.
The departure had been emotionally charged, everyone trying not to break down for the sake of the others, but El had to press her lips tightly together to the point it hurt, to stop the tears from falling. She just couldn't shake the feeling that it was a farewell forever, causing her whole body to shake while she had hugged each of her friends as tightly as humanly possible.
But everyone had their tasks tonight, and so they had to split up at last, each small group heading in separate directions. She had waited, watching her friends leave, until she couldn't see any of them anymore, and she had been left alone with Mike at the foothills of the forest.
For her specific task she only needed backup from one person, and there was no question who she wanted by her side for this final battle. And luckily, no one had argued with them, when Mike had silently stood up and had walked over to her, as soon as the plan was formed. He had positioned his tall body in front of her, as if he prepared himself to shield her from all the harm she was about to endure, an expression of stoic determination on his face.
Just thinking about it now, threatened new tears to fall, and she clutched his hand even more, to keep her composure, while the two of them stumbled through the woods.
El felt like cattle being led to the slaughterhouse; each fibre in her body told her to turn around and run, to hide from the horrors awaiting her, to look for shelter at a save place, her home. Thinking of it, the image of a cosy fort built from blankets in a jam-full basement popped up in her head, and El pressed Mike's hand so much to prevent from crying, that she was sure she cut off his blood circulation.
"Are you okay?", Mike asked and El clearly heard the anxiousness and compassion in his voice.
She wanted to reassure him, that she was fine, that she was certain that they would make it, that this plan wasn't complete madness, but the words were not forming on her lips.
She couldn't pretend like she wasn't thinking that this was her last day on earth, like she hadn't just said goodbye to her loved ones forever, and like this wasn't the last minutes with him.
El stopped abruptly surprising Mike, who made two more strides, before realizing her hand, that still hold on to his in a death grip, pulled him back.
"El…?", he exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and question, but before he could continue, El interrupted him by closing the remaining distance in one swift movement, dropping his hand, positioning both on his cheeks instead, and pressing her lips on his with a force of emotions.
Mike was stunned for a few seconds, before he let the flashlight, he had been carrying, fall to the ground, and his long arms encircled her small frame, pressing her tenderly against his chest and responding with El's emotions mirrored by himself.
El tried to express everything she felt for him in the embrace, as her lips moved desperately with his own; the gratitude, the longing, and the love.
After an eternity, but still too soon, they broke apart, gasping for the air their bodies desperately craved. Still, they remained in each other's arms, their foreheads pressed against in each other, a gesture they had done so often, but it never had felt more intense as it did now, that it was likely to be the last time.
El's gaze travelled over his face; the high cheekbones sprinkled with freckles, that she had attempted so often to count without success, a task which would now remain unaccomplished forever; the soft lips, that never failed to astonish her, no matter if they formed words that she hadn't heard before, or if they touched her in a way, that she had the feeling to be on fire and like melting simultaneously; and lastly her searching eyes stopped when they locked with his, getting lost in their depths, which drew her in and wrapped her whole body in a feeling of warmth, as if he put a blanket over her in a caressing manner, shutting out all fears and worries she were feeling.
Suddenly, El felt the urge to express her emotions in a way she never felt before. If these were her last hours, she wanted to spend them wisely, and right now nothing made more sense, than to share her deepest feelings with the person, that was pressed against her.
"Mike, I love you.", she started, as she caressed his cheeks with her right thumb. "I want you to know, what you-y-…", El continued, before the tears finally started to fall and cut off her voice.
Mike quickly reached out and tenderly wiped away the droplets from her face. "El, it's okay. I love you, too.", he whispered back.
"No, Mike…", El started again, more determined this time, and as Mike was about to speak again, she quickly stopped him. "Please, I need to say this. I can't move one more step forward, without telling you what you mean to me."
"El, you don't have to…"
"I know, but I want to, and I need you to listen.", she said more confident, than she felt inside, but it was enough to shut down Mike. He seemed to sense the importance this had for El and he kept his mouth shut, only speaking with his eyes, that still looked straight into hers.
"If these are my last hours, I want you to know, that I want nothing else than to spend them with you by my side. Though I wish we could do something else, then this desperate attempt to save the world…
I wish we could be in my dad's cabin right now, listen to kitschy music from the tape recorder, and you singing to it off tone. I wish we could be at Surfer Boy's, me eating pineapple pizza and you complaining about it nonstop. I wish we could snuggle in the blanket fort with a plate of Eggos to share, while you explain the world to me. And I wish we could dance one more time at the Snowball together, though I know we are too old for it by now, but I would not care."
She saw that tears were falling down his cheeks by now, but she was not done, yet, and she forced herself to continue.
"When I was younger, being raised in the lab, I didn't know much about the world. I didn't know the possibilities it offered, and therefore, I didn't have any plans for my life… I didn't have any dreams.
And when I finally escaped, I was frightened by what I discovered, not knowing anything outside the prison, that I called home for so long. But just when I was about to give up, you found me, you cared for me, you rescued me. And without knowing anything about dreams, you made each and every single one of them come true, before I even knew about their existence.
You showed me kindness, that I never experienced before, you cared for me, like no one else ever did, you treated me with respect, that was foreign to me, and you loved me, when no one else did, not even myself.
And though I didn't dream about love and didn't know that I was craving it, I found it in you. I love you, Mike! I truly do and I always will, as long as I live."
Mike hands were shaking from her words, as he held her head in his, and the tears streamed down his face, though a small smile graced his lips.
El herself felt new tears forming in her eyes, but she suppressed it one last time, to finish her monologue.
"Before I met you, I didn't belong anywhere. I was a foreigner, without a home, not understanding the world that was surrounding me, and not knowing who I am. But you changed this, you gave me a place to stay, you explained everything that was new to me, you gave me a name and showed me who I could be. And most importantly, you offered me love, that held the power to keep me fighting on against all odds, that healed the scars of my broken soul, and that showed me that I do belong to the place I choose to call my home. I belong with you!"
El pressed her lips against Mike's again, as if to manifest her words in this simple gesture. Both their tears caused a salty taste on her lips, but she continued to hold onto him, desperately trying to delay the moment, when they needed to part.
Finally, Mike broke the kiss and whispered in a shaking voice, that spoke of the adoration and love he felt for her. "I love you, El!"
"I love you, too.", she replied tenderly.
They both stared one last time in each other eyes, before they pulled back. They knew they couldn't remain standing there much longer, as they had a task to accomplish, and the others were counting on them.
With a heavy sigh, Mike wiped away El's remaining tears with the sleeve of his pullover, not caring about his own tear strained face, and took her hand in his again.
"Okay, let's get this over with.", he sighed, not wanting to break out of their moment. "Let's bring you back home."
