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God, he was nervous.
He must have faced a million monsters, and even then, he was never as jittery as he was when he got out of his car.
Mike had to remind himself to keep breathing with each step he took as he made his way up the cobblestone path onto the familiar porch. With a slightly shaking hand, he rang the doorbell.
He immediately began to shift his weight from heel to heel. He wasn't the most patient guy in the world; he could acknowledge that, but it felt like three forevers had passed until the door finally opened.
"Mike?" El's aunt, Becky, looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, "Come in, it's freezing out there."
He couldn't say he noticed, not with all of the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
"Thanks," he managed to choke out before he stepped through the threshold.
"Where's Jane?" Concern quickly washed over Becky's face, "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah! Everything is great. Really great, actually. She's just at work." Mike rushed his words out as he scratched at the back of his neck, "Sorry, I didn't think through how weird it would be to show up without her."
Becky waved him off with a relieved smile, "You're welcome here any time, you know that. You've only been around for, what is it? 800 years now?"
"I think that number might be a little closer to seven."
"Well, it's a long time any way you shake it. Can I get you something?"
"No, thanks, though." He shook his head with a chuckle, jamming his hands in his pockets, "I, uh, I was hoping I could talk to Terry. I kind of have something I want to tell her."
"Oh, of course." He could tell Becky was surprised by his request, her eyes growing a bit wider, but she went on without a beat anyway, "If you change your mind, you know where everything is, help yourself. I'll, um, be upstairs – just give me a shout before you leave, alright?"
"Sure thing. Thanks, Becky."
Suddenly, he was aware of the faint sound coming from the living room; Alex Trebek's unwavering voice reading clues to his Jeopardy! contestants. If El couldn't accompany him right now, he was glad Alex could. He let out a deep breath and turned on his heels to enter.
In her usual spot, Terry sat in the center of the room, eyes trained on the television in the corner.
When he first got his license, they would try to visit once a week if their schedules allowed. He'd sit by El's side as they talked to Terry about everything, anything, and nothing. Other times, whether she wanted to go into the Void or just enjoy her mother's presence, she'd never say it, but he could sense she wanted time alone. That's when he'd make himself sparse by helping Becky with things she needed to be done around the house.
Terry never answered out loud, but her eyes always seemed to brighten whenever El was around. During one of their first visits, he had even caught the fingers on her left hand stretching out towards her daughter just the slightest bit. After, he asked El if she had seen it, too.
He would never forget the huge, eye-crinkling smile on her face as she told him that it was Terry's way of showing she was there; she was listening to them.
He despised the evil that hurt them both, depriving them not only of simple conversations but the entire life they were supposed to have together. He hated it so much that he could feel the boiling anger vibrate through his bones, nearly setting his blood aflame.
Yet, despite all of their pain and years apart, it was clear they never needed words. Against their will, they had been forged in fire, but their connection followed suit.
Heart-shattering and incredible, all at once.
It didn't take a genius to figure out how much they meant to each other; that was the entire reason he was even there in the first place.
"Hey Terry, it's just me." She turned her head towards him as he took a spot on the floor, settling on his knees so he could sit back on his heels just like he always did, "I hope you're not too disappointed, but I get it. I miss her, too."
Terry's hand stretched out the smallest bit. Mike shot her a broad smile, "El actually doesn't even know I'm here right now. She thinks I'm going shopping with my mom. And get this, my mom's covering for me. It's like a whole operation."
He tightly squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, "Sorry, I don't think you want to hear about how I'm lying to your daughter right now, huh? I mean, it's for a good reason and all. It would kind of suck if I ruined the surprise because that's, like, the entire point of this, and I'm pretty sure that I'm...talking way too much now."
"It's a phrase that can be interchanged with 'to wed.'" Alex Trebek's voice came through the television speaker.
"Oh, you've got to be shitting me, Alex," Mike mumbled to himself.
"What is 'get hitched?'"
Dustin once had referred to his total obliviousness. Not much about his awareness had changed since then, but he knew a sign when he saw one.
He drew in a steadying breath, "I'm here because I'm, uh, I'm going to ask her to marry me. I wanted to tell you before I did it."
Going to Terry was the first thing he thought of after he decided it was time to propose, even before his mother heavily suggested he talk to Hopper.
When they were younger, El had whispered Terry's story to him one night after he snuck through her window in the cabin. She recounted every detail of how her mother gave up everything she had to try to get her back.
Terry missed out on so much because of what those fuckers at that godforsaken lab did to her; it was decided long ago that they wouldn't deny her another moment if either of them could help it.
"You're actually the second person to know. I had to get the ring from my mom, so she was the first on a technicality. Oh! Almost forgot. I have it with me."
Mike dug into his pocket for the velvet box, taking the ring carefully between his thumb and pointer finger. A sizeable rounded stone sat at the center of intricately crafted metal with plenty of smaller ones set within the band itself.
He held it up to show her, "It was my great-great-grandmother's. My nana gave it to my mom when I was born because I'm her first grandson, and she wanted me to have it. I don't know, supposedly any woman would kill for a ring like this. At least that's what my mom says. I don't know much about jewelry, so I have no idea if that's true or not, but I don't really care what anyone else says; I just hope El likes it. I honestly think it's going to look amazing on her, you know, if she says yes."
Nothing could have stopped the grin on his face from the mere thought of getting to put his ring on her finger.
"Nana loves El, by the way. Like, I'm pretty sure she loves her more than she loves me. After they met for the first time, Nana told my mom that the ring better end up on El's hand or she would take it back." Mike laughed, "Mom said she almost had a heart attack because we were only fifteen, but Nana knew where it was headed."
He tucked the small object back in its box and shoved it into his pocket, looking back up at Terry, "Anyway, I hope I have your blessing, I really do, because I seriously wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You're the one who made my whole world possible. I don't have to tell you what you mean to El, but you mean a lot to me, too."
He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "And I-I just want you to know that you won't ever have to worry about her. We both know she can take care of herself, but I'm gonna make sure she never has to. She's going to have the life she deserves. Whatever she wants, she'll have it. You can count on that. And me, I promise."
"I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything like that. I'm not. I screw up sometimes." He rolled his eyes, "A lot, according to Max, but I'll always try to be."
He smiled at the warmth spreading in his chest, "You know, I used to think that loving someone more than anything else sounded totally fake. It seemed impossible. Out of everything in the world, how could you love one person the most? Then I ran into a girl in the woods and found out really quickly how that happens. I've loved her more than anything since I first saw her. I always will. I can't wait until she's my wife."
His wife.
He was going to be her husband.
It was the first time he had said it aloud. Letting the words roll off his tongue made it real in an instant. He'd be getting down on his knee in front of the most remarkable woman in the universe, the very one who held onto his heart since he was twelve, asking her to officially spend forever with him.
He'd been waiting nearly half his life for that very moment.
He felt the excitement bubble from deep within his chest, resulting in a chuckle, "Sorry, that just sounds so awesome."
He cleared his throat, "Except, that might have to wait for a little cause I don't think we'll be getting married right away. We both have another year of school left, and it seems like it would be kind of hard to plan a wedding when I'm a hundred and forty miles away, but we'll see. It doesn't really even matter when, I just want to make this promise to her. I need to."
The fingers on Terry's hand outstretched once more, bringing him an almost palpable sense of calm. She didn't have to acknowledge him again, but she did. His gut was telling him they understood each other. Terry trusted him to keep his word and take care of her daughter.
It was all he could ever ask for, and he wouldn't let either of them down.
"Thank you, Terry. For this, and for everything." Mike slowly rose to his feet, "I know I talk a lot, so I'll get out of your hair now, but I'm gonna do it within the next few days, so hopefully, the next time I see you, she can show you the ring herself." He sighed, "That's if Hop doesn't kill me first. There's been a few close calls over the years; this might be the one that does me in."
He cast a grin before turning to let Becky know he was leaving, "Thanks again. I'll see you soon."
One parent down, two more to go.
Hop and Joyce.
Mostly Hop.
God help him.