Work Text:
“I love you too.”
Mike was currently having the most wonderful dream. It was his favourite kind of dream, since El was in it, and it was made even better because El had told him she loved him. Then she had kissed him, curling her hand around his ear, her fingers winding gently into his hair.
This dream was wonderful, but also frustrating because while El kissed him and walked away he seemed unable to move or speak, his hands numb and useless at his sides, his feet glued to the floor. And then she had walked away, leaving him alone in an empty room.
He seemed to be able to move now, and lifted a hand to his face to trace his bottom lip with his fingertips, still dazed by El’s kiss (so powerful, even in a dream).
Suddenly, a thud from down the hall startled him, making him jump. Dustin’s exasperated voice called out before another thump and Lucas’ laugh. It was enough to jolt Mike out of his trance, his hands still hovering at his lips. Blinking, he snapped his head towards the door and it suddenly occurred to him what was happening. It isn’t a dream, I’m awake. “I’m awake!” he nearly shouted.
His body started to move as though on autopilot, his mouth and legs going before his brain fully caught up. “El!” he called, dashing from the room as fast as his long legs would carry him.
As quickly as he started he came to a halt, stopping in the doorway to keep from crashing into her. El was hardly down the hallway, standing just outside the door, her back to him. She had a hand on her hip, the teddy bear he had retrieved for her earlier in the crook of her elbow. Her other hand was resting on her forehead, her elbow jutting out to the side.
She exhaled deeply and dropped her arm from her head as she turned to face him, her teeth biting gently on her bottom lip. Mike took in her face, her shimmering eyes and flushed cheeks, taken by her beauty. If he didn’t know her so well he might still think he was dreaming (or, maybe he was still dreaming). “El,” he repeated, just to say her name again, his voice less urgent.
Her eyes rose to meet his and she took a half step towards him, her gaze never wavering.
“Yes.” She said it more like a statement than a question, matching his reverent tone.
His hand had found its way into hers and her thumb was rubbing the back of his gently, her touch grounding him. Her touch grounded him but her eyes always overwhelmed him and he found his eyes roaming over her face, lost in her. The paralyzingly feeling that had overtaken him moments earlier seemed to be coming back, brought on by her presence, by the overwhelmingness of her. El, his El, who could hold his hand in hers so tenderly and bring ruin with the other. El, who was unloved and unprotected most of her life but loved and protected her friends fiercely and fearlessly. She could do anything, choose anyone. She could hold anyone’s hand but she had reached out to hold his. Oh my God, he loved her. He loved her and inexplicably she loved him too.
She looked at him, her caramel eyes sparkling with bemusement. “Mike,” she said, a smile ghosting her lips. Her voice brought him back to the present moment, and he realized he had just been staring are her silently all this time. Instinctually, he gripped her hand tighter in his own, pulling her gently back into the empty room with him. He took a moment, licking his lips, brow furrowed. He squared his shoulders, determined to do this justice - to do her justice. She deserved romance, she deserved the stars.
He cleared his throat. “Um, El?” Bad start Wheeler. “I...sorry for before. I...you surprised me, is all.”
El dipped her head and blushed the most beautiful shade of pink. He was still clutching her hand. “I couldn’t let you - I didn’t want you to go before I got to tell you, tell you that I…”
He looked at her, and her eyes were full of tears. It was his undoing. He forgot how to breathe, how to think. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, and so he pressed their joined hands against his heart as if to hold it in place, sure El could feel it pounding against the back of her hand. She looked at their joint hands and then to his face, reaching out with her free hand to gently cup his cheek, as she had just minutes earlier. She glanced from his eyes to his lips, her expression full of wonder. The stress of the last few weeks did nothing to detract from her radiance. She was so beautiful.
Finally, Mike spoke.
“El, I love you.”
Her eyes flew to meet his, softening even more than should be possible. Now that he had said it once, he didn’t think he could stop. “I love you. I love you, El.”
Her hand slid from his cheek to the back of his neck and he leaned down to meet her, her soft lips gentle and lingering on his own. His heart continued to race, but he didn’t mind. It could fly out of his chest now but it wouldn’t matter - it didn’t belong to him anyway. It belonged to her, only her, always her.
After a moment El pulled back just enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing out in relief. Mike couldn’t stop the smile that threatened to split his face in two.
El exhaled deeply, tipping her head slightly to look up at him. “Took you long enough,” she teased, causing Mike’s mouth to open in protest before she silenced him with another kiss. And then El laughed, her laugh muffled against his lips, her hand still on his cheek. It made him laugh, and soon they were hugging and kissing and giggling until they both had tears on their faces.
Mike caught his breath and managed to find his voice again. “I tried to tell you so many times. I swear! I just,” he sighed, exasperated.
“I understand,” she said, surprising him. She raised her eyebrows at him, teasing. “You know what they say. Love makes you crazy.”
The words brought Mike’s racing heart to a complete stop. His jaw couldn’t drop any lower, his eyebrows raising to his hairline in shock as he felt a flush of red embarrassment rush to his cheeks. Learning she had overheard his confession that day in the cabin was one thing; to hear she knew what he meant while he babbled on like an idiot trying to express his feelings? He thought he might die from the humiliation.
“What? You-you knew then? This whole time? You…you!” In one quick motion, he grabbed both her wrists his hand and began tickling her ribs with the other.
El shrieked in laughter, trying and failing to wiggle out of his grasp. “Mike! Mike!” They both laughed, El from the tickling and Mike with a mixture of relief and at her laughter, so she would know he wasn’t upset with her.
She looked up at him, pink and out of breath. “It’s okay. Love - love made me crazy too.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the mood changed. Gone was her teasing look, and tears were back in her eyes. Mike felt tears threatening to spill from his own the longer he looked at her. He dropped his forehead so it was resting against hers, clasping both her hands in his own.
Mike’s heart, so light and full a moment ago was suddenly heavy in his chest. He didn’t want her to go. He tightened his grip on her hands, as though he hoped if he was tethered to her strongly enough she’d have to stay.
“You’ll call every day?” she asked, her voice quiet and sad.
“I will. I promise.”
“You’ll...you’ll say that again? When you call?”
Mike pulled away just enough to see her eyes. They were still brimming with tears. “I will. I will tell you every day.” Every day forever, he thought.
She smiled, and the motion caused a tear to spill onto her cheek. Mike wiped it away tenderly with his thumb. “Me too,” she said, hardly more than a whisper. “Promise.”
His heart squeezed in his chest. He felt lucky to hear her say it one time, the thought of her saying it to him ever again was completely overwhelming.
He kissed her again then, wrapping his arms around her, his hands on her back, hers gripping his shoulders tightly. They didn’t have much time but they had right now. It wasn’t enough (would any amount of time ever be enough?), but it was something, and he refused to waste it.
An hour later they would be outside, hugging for the millionth time, this time the last time, for now. Her hand was in his hair at the base of his neck, her arms holding him tightly. His arms were wrapped around her, his hands splayed on her back, fingers digging in slightly, everything in his body resisting letting go. She buried her face in his neck, his cheek against her temple, his face in her hair. Now that the moment had arrived, their anguish was palpable, surrounding them like a cloud. Mike’s heart felt as fragile as glass, ready to shatter at any moment.
Then she said it, quietly, desperately, a gasped whisper against his ear. “I love you.” El hardly had the words out before quickly burying her face into his shoulder.
“I love you too,” he said, knowing his voice gave away that he was crying. He wasn’t embarrassed - he was too sad to care about blubbering on her - but she seemed to care, for at the broken sound of his voice her body stiffened, and she pulled away slightly to look at him. Moving her hand from his neck to the side of his face, she gently turned his head to face her, their foreheads rubbing together roughly as they resisted any and all distance between them. She was crying too, her face mirroring exactly how he felt. Heartache. Heartbreak. But also love.
As she drove away, Mike felt like a piece of him was driving away with her, and it was. He knew he wouldn’t be complete again until they were together. But he also knew as much as this hurt, they would be okay. 353 days couldn’t keep them apart; inter-dimensional monsters and government officials couldn’t come between them. She may be taking a piece of his heart with her, but she left hers behind with him.
She loved him too. And for now that would have to be enough.