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She spins, looking over her shoulder when she feels a firm hand grasp her wrist, and she stops, breath catching when she finds herself lost in a pool of warm brown eyes. “Mike?”
“Wait! I-” He cuts himself off, looking around, catching the incredulous look in Hopper's eyes at his timing before narrowing his eyes when he sees the suspicious look on Kali’s face. “Can we talk real quick?”
“Mike, we need to-” Eleven tries to speak, but the need in his eyes silences her.
She doesn’t want to. It’ll make everything harder if she allows it, but she can’t say no. This is Mike. This is the one person who can break her walls within seconds without trying, and if she’s honest with herself, a small, selfish part wants it. Just one more moment before she loses it all.
“Look kid, we’re running on-” Hopper tries, voice uncharacteristically gentle, and Mike gives him a firm nod.
“I know. It’ll be quick. I promise.” Maybe it’s the certainty in his voice that convinces him or maybe it’s when Kali tries to cut in that Hopper instantly jumps sides to contradict her.
“We don’t have tim-”
“You heard him. It’ll be quick.” Hopper cuts her off, giving them his back as he walks further down the path, starting the trek down, and Kali inhales deeply, clenching her fists as she tries to catch Eleven’s eyes, but she stubbornly avoids eye contact.
Eleven fights an eye roll when she hears the girl scoff before grudgingly following the older man down, and she nods, eyes softening when Mike swallows, pulling her further away from the group.
She can feel multiple eyes following them, but she ignores them. After everything, she can allow herself to have one last selfish moment.
“Mike? What’s wrong?”
“Promise me.” Mike demands, holding her hand tightly, inching closer until his scent crowds her senses, and she falters at the terror she finds in those dark depths, feeling her muscles go lax when he cups her face with his other hand, tension fading when the warmth of his skin sinks deep.
“Pro-”
“Promise me you’ll come back.” Mike whispers, and she freezes, blinking rapidly.
“Wh-What?” Eleven stutters, wanting to look away, but the fear she sees keeps her still.
“Look, I don’t know what the hell she’s been saying to you, and frankly, I don’t give a shit.” Mike shakes his head, taking another step closer, voice fragile. “But I do know something. A few hours ago, you looked different, and now, now you have that look on your face, and I can’t, El. I can’t.”
“What are you tal-”
“That look you have. I remember it. I’ve been trying to forget it for years,” He stresses, clenching his jaw tightly as he tries to find the correct words to express himself. “And no matter how hard I try, it follows me in every nightmare I have.”
Dread pools in her stomach, a poison so traitorous that it feels like she can’t breathe.
“Because it’s that same damned look you had that night many years ago when you sacrificed yourself, and I can’t accept that, El. I refuse to accept that. So promise me. Promise me you’re coming back.”
“I-I can’t do that.” Her lips tremble, eyes watering, and he swallows harshly. Her heart tugs with guilt when she notices a sheen appear in his eyes. “Anything can happ-”
“Don’t do that.” Mike snaps, voice hard, and still, his hands remain gentle. “Don’t lie to me. I know you, El. I know what that look means, and I don’t know what the hell she said to you for you to get it, but I do know one thing down to my very bones. I. Can’t. Do. It. Again. Do you understand?”
“Mike,” She whispers, reaching out to cling onto his vest. “I-”
“No!” He cries, shaking his head as he pulls her into his arms, dropping his forehead to hers. “No. I’ll follow you if you don’t come back.”
Her eyes widen in horror, heart dropping, and she tries to rear back, but he holds her tightly, dropping her wrist to wrap his arm around her waist. “I will. I swear it, so promise me you’ll come back because I don’t think I can live in a world where you’re not in it.”
“You can’t say that!” Her breath catches in her ribs when he smiles gently, the fierceness in his eyes growing with a force as he traces her cheekbone softly, as if she was something precious he had to cherish.
“No, you don’t understand do you? I love you, El. You.” Mike nudges his head against hers, eyes darkening.
“I wasn’t lying that night when I told you that my life didn’t start until I met you, and if you die? If I lose you? That’s it for me. I know you’re scared about what could happen after this, but we’ve been fighting for so long, and I’ll continue fighting for you for however long we need to. Don’t give up on us. On me. On Hopper. On your family. Our friends. Please, don’t. I can’t do this without you. I can’t imagine a future without seeing you by my side, okay? So please." His voice wavers, vulnerability open for the world to see.
"Please, no matter what she says, no matter what happens, come back to me. Don’t sacrifice yourself again. Don’t leave me again because I won’t do it. I won’t continue on if you’re not by my side. I know I’ll never be able to move on if I lost you, so just-” His brows meet as he frowns, and he leans down, softly kissing a tear away, using the hand on her cheek to wipe the other ones away.
“Promise me.” Mike finishes, whispering the words against her cheek, and her walls shatter into tiny little pieces, the resolve she had settled for when she agreed to Kali’s plan fading instantly.
“I-” Eleven hesitates, licking her lips, mouth trembling. “I promise.”
Guilt washes over her with massive waves when he goes lax against her, relief shining through his dark eyes before he drops his head on her shoulder, clinging onto her with all of his strength, and she reacts instinctively, wrapping one arm around his waist before sinking her other hand into his hair, holding him close.
She doesn’t know how she’s going to do it. She hopes she can convince Kali to leave with her, she hopes with every fiber in her being that her sister won’t try to take her choice away by force because this-
They were all worth fighting for, and she’ll do it. She’ll fight to come back to them even if it means having to fight her sister because she can’t risk it. She won’t ever risk it because she knows right down to her bones that he’s being honest. He’ll do it. He’ll follow her, and it terrifies her. A part of her wants to be angry over it, but it would just be hypocritical of her to feel that because as much as she loves Hopper, and as much as she cherishes her friends, losing Mike would break her. She thinks she would do the same if it were the other way around if she’s honest.
No. No, that’s wrong.
Eleven knows she would. She closes her eyes, feeling the kiss he presses against her shoulder, and she turns her cheek, kissing his jawline in return, repeating the words as a new wave of determination falls over her.
“I promise.”