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His throat is raw, his voice cracking more and more each time he screams, but it doesn’t stop him. He is prepared to stay there for the rest of time, grasping El’s hands tightly in his and calling out to her, if that’s what it takes. He has no idea if she can even hear him, but the off chance she can is worth everything to him.
The sight of El floating in the sensory deprivation tank wrecked havoc in his already racing, jumbled mind. It was so similar to the last time he had seen her in one, in ‘the bathtub’ as she called it, when she had been so much smaller and so frightened. He had watched her in there, still completely awed and enraptured by her abilities even though he was the one who had known about them the longest. Mike could see his sister and Jonathan watching Eleven wearily, similar to how Lucas had looked at her at first, and he had to fight the urge to say something, to defend her. How could anyone possibly be scared of El? She was a superhero.
Back then, Mike had had to sit on his fingers to stop himself from reaching out to her whilst she floated in the bathtub. He knew she needed no distractions, but her voice had been so frightened, her trembling body so cold from the water it has made him choke up with tears. He felt an irrational hot pulse of anger at Chief Hopper and Mrs. Byers for being the ones to take over and help her - she was his friend.
How he wishes for an adult now. Anyone who knew what the fuck they were doing. At least this time he can hold her hands as tightly as possible, the promise ring he had bought her digging into his fingers so hard it rips at his skin. He is thankful for the pain, it gives him something to focus on, to ground himself.
He had nearly lost his head completely when she had started struggling to breathe and they had moved her from the makeshift sensory deprivation tank to the Surfer Boy Pizza kitchen table. The words he had kept inside for so long had poured out of him. Once he had started, he couldn’t seem to stop them, each word more vulnerable and raw and true.
El? I dont know if you can hear this but if you can I want you to know I'm here okay? I'm right here. And I love you. El do you hear me? I love you. I'm sorry I don't say it more. Its not because I'm scared of you. I'm not. I've never felt that way. Never. But I am scared that one day you'll realize you don't need me anymore. And I thought that if I said how I felt it would somehow make that day hurt more. But the truth is El, I don't know how to live without you. I feel like my life started the day we found you in the woods. You were wearing that yellow Benny's Burgers t-shirt. And it was so big it almost swallowed you whole. And I knew right then and there in that moment that I loved you. And I've loved you every day since. I love you on your good days I love you on your bad days I love you with your powers I love you without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero. And I cant lose you. Okay? Do you hear me? I cant lose you. You can do anything. You can fly. You can move mountains. I believe that. I really do. But right now, you just have to fight. FIGHT.
He now struggles to say much through his tears, but he keeps at it. He alternates between yelling her name or telling her to do what she does best, to fight, hoping beyond hope that she can somehow hear him. Her entire body is taunt, her eyelids flickering at lightspeed.
Her grip on his hand slackens, and Mike sees nothing but pure white. His stomach bottoms out, and he gasps out either her name or “No.”, he isn’t sure. For a second, he believes that after everything, he has lost her, and he feels the scream bubble up in his chest when her eyes fly open, and she sits up manically. He has his arms around her before he has even registered that she is awake, that she is okay.
“El. Oh my god, El. You’re okay. You’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He clutches her as tightly as possible, tucks her head into the crook of his neck. His shirt is soaked.
“Mike.” Her voice is nothing more than a croak. “Mike, I-“
“Hey. Shhh. It’s okay, El, it can wait-“
“No.” Her voice is so resolute, he stops trying to soothe her, and leans back to look at her face.
She reaches up and runs her fingers through his hair, and his hands automatically find their spot on her back. Even after not seeing her for so long, holding her like this is the most natural thing in the world.
“Mike. I love you, too.”
Mike feels fresh tears prick in his eyes. She heard. She had heard him. It had worked.
“Yeah?” He asks, his voice barely above a whisper. “I love you, El. I always have, and I always will.”
Even after everything, she manages a smile and it takes his breath away.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”