_1 YEAR LATER_
-'UP WE GO!' Mike put his son Levi on his shoulders while they walked down the boardwalk to the beach in order to meet with the party,
-'Hold on! Take his shirt off it's too hot and we're gonna be in the water anyways', Mike rolled his eyes and sat on a near bench so El could handle it,
-'Hurry up mom, we wanna go have fun at the beach, right?!' He tickled the little boys' foot,
-'Don't speak for him' El put the small piece of fabric in a beach tote and turned to Mike, -'I think he's saying we want ice cream first'she added with a grin.
-'Is he drooling on me' Mike asked as he licked his vanilla ice cream cone, El looked up at the little boy holding onto his dad's hair, -'A little bit. Every time I let him have some it just goes in your hair', -'God dammit' Mike gagged, and El chuckled, -'It's fine! He seems to like ice cream though'; Levi's eyes were big like Mike's but of a greenish tint, like El's mom, -'He's just staring at my ice cream, I won't let him have any more babe I promise', -'He's lucky I love him, I would've fought his little ass for messing up my hair', El slapped him playfully and then kissed his arm, -'Let's just go find the party'.
All the members of the party came running out of the water to greet them. They tackled El into a beach chair, hugging her tight, she laughed and screamed 'Get off me, guys, it's hot out here!', -'You're getting tackled by TWO since Mike has cargo on him' Lucas pointed up at baby Levi, -'That's not fair!' She continued laughing at the tickles, as Mike sat on a spread out towel and put the little boy beside him, close enough to the sand that it caressed his small toes.
-'Hit me' Dustin put his palm up to Levi's face, the jolly little boy tapped it gently, as the teen had taught him, -'That's right! Good job', he pinched the kid's belly and ran after Will to get his frisbee back. Max grabbed a hold of the baby to distract him while Mike and El got ready to hit the water.
El discarded her pants and was about to throw her shirt off when she stopped, frozen cold and looked down at her belly. Mike noticed immediately, -'What's up?' He asked curiously, arranging the cap that sat atop his untameable mountain of hair. El bit her lip, -'That's a huge scar...I-I never noticed it that much but now...at the beach, with all these people and-and the party-', Mike frowned deeply -'El. There's nothing wrong with your scar', the scar was a vertical mark that went from her belly button to just above her pubic bone. It was pretty unmissable if she wore the bikini properly.
But really, El was beautiful. Her small, dainty figure a combination of femenine curves and athleticism. Flawless.
The girl looked up at him with watery eyes. Well shit.
-'Hey, hey don't cry El...you look beautiful okay?',
-'But I have this THING and everyone will ask me about it, and-and it's just fucking hideous',
Mike looked annoyed at this point...-'And you know what you're gonna tell whoever asks you? You're gonna say I got this scar so that my son could be here, and you're gonna point at that tiny ball of adorable chub and wear your scar proudly, okay? Because it's made of love and bravery'.
El's jaw dropped, -'Damn. Without a stutter', Mike rolled his eyes and swiftly took off El's shirt, -'Come on, centrefold model, let's go have some summer fun!'.
Max helped Will take pictures of the tiny family within their family. It was great to see how Mike and El had not changed at all for the past year, even if they added yet another member to their party. They still were lighthearted, and as fun as two kids about to start their senior year could be. But most of all, they were inlove. With each other and with their son, which was how it was meant to be.
The little family made their way into the Byers house. It was pretty late at night and they were all tired but of course Mike had to drive back to his own place.
El found Hopper asleep on the couch, and what a better way to wake him up that sitting the black haired baby she held, on top of her dad's side; -'FUCK' he groaned, startled, quickly feeling a pair of very very tiny hands grabbing at the edges of his beard, -'You kids are gonna kill me' he sighed, giving into the infant's charm and letting him play with his face,
-'Sorry it's late, there was traffic coming back' El apologised gently while putting some bags with clothes back into her room,
-'It's okay, it's summer, traffic's supposed to be crazy', Hopper inspected the child playing with his hat, -'He's pink' he pinched the baby's freckly cheeks, he grabbed his small hands and kissed them,
Mike chuckled from a corner of the kitchen, -'Yeah, the sun was pretty good...at least we know he can get somewhat tanned, right El?', -'Yeah, unlike you. You still glow in the dark', Hopper grinned quietly as his daughter joined Mike back in the kitchen.
The two teenagers sat down face to face, each hugging a cold can of Coke in their hands,
-'So I have that Chicago Institute of Tech interview tomorrow' Mike glared down at the can distractedly, he was nervous.
-'With the dean right? He must've seen something in you if he made the trip from Chicago just to meet you!' El smiled wide, and proudly;
Mike tried to agree, -'Still nervous though...',
-'...does he know about us?' The girl asked, pointing her glare at Hopper who was making Levi watch some Western in the TMC channel,
-'Yeah, that's the first thing I told him about...he was okay with it, he said he only cares about my marks and projects and ideas so it really calmed me down a bit',
El nodded and sipped her Coke, -'And depending on this interview...',
-'He'll enroll me in the chemical engineering junior program...which is...I'd have to travel to Chicago, I get to stay in the dorms, see college life, meet some teachers and get introductory classes', Mike explained, his pride noticeable in his voice.
-'That's AMAZING Mike!' El was beaming, she really was so damn proud of Michael she wanted to cry, the tall boy grinned widely,
-'Thanks babe, means a lot to me...all this, everything I do...I just want you to know I'm doing it for you and Levi, okay?', -'But you love chemistry and-and', -'Yeah but I mean, If I have to go away early for college for a bit, I'll do it because I want to have good opportunities that will help you two',
El nodded slowly and sipped more of her drink, -'We had a good day today...I know you're tired, all the studying and stuff but, it was nice you have time for us',
Mike frowned deeply, his dark eyebrows pulling together, and his freckles dancing around them, -'Time? Time for you? Jane...' he held her hands after muttering her legal name, -'Jane, if I could spend every waking second with you two, I would. Nothing makes me happier than driving here after school with you in the passenger's seat, and opening up this door and seeing Levi doing some adorable stunt with Joyce or-or my mom and...honestly, that sense of calm and happiness is all I want for us three. And that's why I'm putting so much work into my schooling. So we can live in that peace, ok?'.
El was crying by now. She got up and sat on Mike's lap, hugging him tight, -'If that's what you gotta do, then that's great and I support you'.
-'Goodnight buddy' Mike kissed the little boy in his head and then kissed his girlfriend gently, -'I'll see you tomorrow after the interview ok? I'll call you', El nodded and kissed his cheek, -'Goodnight and good luck', -'Thanks, goodbye Sir!', Hopper groaned, -'It's HOPPER, kid!', -'okay sir' Mike chuckled when he heard Hopper grunt again, before closing the door and getting into his car to drive home.
Hopper watched as El arranged stuff around her room for bedtime, while continuosly glancing at what Levi was doing with Mike's Rubiks cube, -'Have you ever wondered' he said, -'if he has powers as well?', El stopped for a second, taken aback by he father's question and then sighed, -'Yeah I always wondered. He doesn't have powers, dad', Hopper frowned, -'How do you know that?', -'If he had powers we would've known already. He would mess up the lights, pass energy onto me. But he doesn't. He's normal, and that helps me sleep at night' she smiled and sat beside him, -'Means no one will come after him'. Hopper was taken aback by her sudden sombreness, -'Still, nobody gets to him without getting through Pop first huh?', El chuckled as her dad picked up the little boy with one arm and put him on his shoulders. As tired as the infant was, he screamed delightfully at the sudden playfulness of his grandpa, the teenage girl decided to taunt him, -'Nobody gets to Levi without getting through Mike first', -'Mike? MIKE?' Hopper held the baby in front of him, -'You know why your dad is in track team? hes in track team because he's too tall and he weighs nothing and thats why he can run so fast...but anybody can get through Mike, he's all skin, bones, hair and freckles and , El shook her head jokingly and made a gesture with her hand to make Hopper's hat fall off his head, -'he tries his best' El admitted, while grabbing a sky blue soft towel and a bottle of baby shampoo, -'Come on young man, we gotta get that salt water off you!'.
The sound of radio static woke El up. She was spread out on top of the duvet, a small figure bundled under the blankets beside her, and a stray baby bottle slowly dripping its remaining content beside the blanketed child.
It had been a hard night for her since Levi needed his oxygen therapy that night and his mother had to stay up a few extra hours to help his bronchopulmonary dysplasia. A terrible chronic illness caused by his premature birth.
El unglued her face from the pillow and sighed deeply, completely annoyed at whoever was interrupting her sleep, -'What the fuck' she mumbled, patting beside her to, make sure her son was still next to her and breathing, and then flicking her pinky finger to open the supercom wavelengths,
-'EL!' Mike's cheerful voice greeted her, she grunted, -'GOOD MORNING EL!', -'Why are you so happy?', -'I got accepted! Into the early admission orientation plan! I'm going to Chicago Tech!', El rubbed her eyes and yawned while sitting up, -'That's great baby, I told you the dean would see how brilliant you are', Mike let out a satisfied chuckle, -'I wanna take you and baby L for a celebratory breakfast, what do you say?', El looked beside her at the small mess made by the milk in the bottle, the little boy's hair all tangled around, -'Sure, I'll go get ready', -'I'll be there in ten to help, over and out', El chuckled at his nerdiness and decided it was time to get up.
Mike opened the door into the Byers house, Joyce must've left early since Hopper was the one trying to make breakfast, -'Your son has been keeping me up all night, babbling and babbling...he only shuts up when he has food in his mouth or a paci', -'...Good morning to you too sir', the boy sighed deeply, hanging his backpack in the coat-hanger, Hopper grunted and buttered another french toast, -'He's not wrong' Mike heard Will, who was eating some cereal while watching TV, -'GOOD. MORNING. WILL' he emphasised every word, then ruffling his friend's hair, -'They're in the bathroom, he's probably torturing my sister right now', Will chuckled, -'El knows I don't do baths, I'm the diaper man but I don't do baths', -'Good to know William' Mike rolled his eyes and went to help his girlfriend.
—-
-'HE IS THE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!' The waitress at the restaurant marveled at the green-eyed little baby, -'He looks exactly like his big brother! Freckles and all! Just adorable', Mike and El didn't look amused. It was clear the waitress much rather think that Mike was Levi's brother than face the truth of teenage parents.
-'Sure...thanks, I guess. Anyway, what do you want El?', -'Fried chicken and waffled with yogurt sauce, and a pot of honey', -'Got it, you?', -'Scrambled eggs and pancakes' Mike turned to his girlfriend, -'Did you brought his bottle?', El nodded and held up a small bag, the waitress' face dropped. Teenage parents indeed. She rolled her eyes and gazed at the couple with a judgemental look, a look they had grown accustomed since last year.
-'So I start the program in like two months', -'Damn, that's far away', -'Yeah well, it's when it's available. I'm gonna have to fly to Chicago',
El nodded, -'How long is it?'
-'Six weeks...'
-'...Six weeks...away from us'
-'Yeah but we can still talk on the phone you know? It won't be that bad, I think',
El tried to convince herself of it and smiled forcefully, -'I'll miss your help with this one' she nodded at Levi, who was now biting at the nipple of his bottle
-'I'll miss you two a lot. I promise to call every day'
El nodded slowly and bit onto her fried chicken so she didn't have to talk.
By the time they were almost done, Mike had sat the child on his lap and was sharing pancakes
-'You're making a mess, young man'
he chuckled and cleaned the baby's face while El observed tenderly, -'You're so good with him',
Mike looked up, his thick hair falling slightly over her eyes, his freckles fading a bit against the blush of his cheeks, -'Thanks..I-I try'
-'It's what you're supposed to do. You're the dad',
Mike nodded and sighed deeply, -'I really love him more than anything. And because of that! We are going to the strip mall later and get some new clothes and toys for this young lad, right Levi?'
The baby looked up at his father and reached for his nose, -'Nope, you're all syrupy and gross, get your act together'.
El buckled up her son in the car seat while Mike started the engine of his 77' BMW (A gift from his grandparents rewarding his excellent marks and scholarships. It was used but he loved it and it ran as good as new).
-'All set?' He asked, putting on his seatbelt, -'Yep. To the strip mall, Michael Theodore! Godspeed!', Mike chuckled at El's funny voice and started driving.
He turned on the radio and started singing along to some song with El, he looked in the rearview mirror and realized Levi was asleep, -'He is down for the count' he laughed, pointing at the backseat. El sighed in relief, -'GOOD', she yelled over the sound of the radio and the wind. She looked to her left to examine Mike's physique. His deep midnight hair was blowing around like crazy, his big eyes kind of squinting because of the sun and the hair. He was flawless.
That was the last thing Jane Hopper saw before she felt herself being hurdled against the dashboard of the car and falling unconscious.