Work Text:
Part I.
The second-longest wait of Michael Wheeler’s life was the year he called Eleven every single night and never got an answer.
The longest was watching her on this cold, metal table, silently begging her to wake up. Please. I can’t lose you. I can’t…
“You’re gonna hurt her hand, Mike,” Will whispered. Mike started with a jolt, released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and glanced from her face to her hand clasped in his own. Oh, damn. Her fingers had gone white from how tight he was holding on. He felt another tear fall silently from his face as he adjusted to a gentler grip.
Mike’s gaze drifted to El’s other hand that Will – always gentle Will – had taken a soft hold of at some point as they kept their vigil over her. Argyle had very sweetly draped his button-up shirt over her, then started cleaning up the restaurant. Jonathan joined him so they could give the younger three some space – and get back on the road to Hawkins more quickly without, as Argyle had put it, “leaving my pizza bro in a lurch, man.”
They’d already drained the pizza freezer, mopped up all the spilled, salty water from the floor, and started putting supplies and ingredients back where they belonged. And still, El hadn’t woken up. She’d always come right back out of the Void before. If she was trapped or something, this time? They had no clue how to help her.
Will looked up toward Mike, at the very moment that – in spite of all of the fear – Mike’s lip was twitching into a small smile. Will cocked his head slightly. “What?”
“I – nothing. You’ve just… really taken to this whole older brother thing is all.”
Will snorted. “I mean, barely older though.”
“Three months totally counts, Will. You’re the middle child now,” Mike said teasingly.
“Yeah, well, I guess I’ll just have to get some pointers from you on how to survive the predicament!”
Mike widened his eyes in mock earnestness. “It is a tribulation, my friend, but I think you’re strong enough to survive it.”
“Hope so.” Will giggled softly, and it was just enough to keep Mike from totally losing his mind.
El stirred, and the boys’ eyes dropped anxiously back to her face. When had Mike buried his other hand in her hair? He stroked the fuzzy, freshly buzzed top of her head gently.
“She was so proud of how long and pretty her hair was getting,” he lamented.
“It grows fast, Mike. She’ll get it back in like, no time.”
“Right.” God. She went back to those people who… who did this to her. Who treated her like a lab animal.
“Dear Mike, I have gone to become a superhero again. From El.” The whole note felt like a stab in the heart every time he remembered it. But especially the “from.”
Pretty sure I deserved that. But you never stopped being a superhero, not for a minute! You give more for your friends than anyone should ever have to. It’s so unfair, El. It’s so unfair, and I am gonna fight everything if that’s what I have to do, to make a world that’s fair for you. You deserve the whole world, and I’m never gonna fail at making sure you know that. Never again. Please come back to me. Please! I promise I’ll do better.
“Please,” a wobbly whisper escaped his mouth.
And then El screamed.
Part II.
El’s eyes popped open, wild with fear and grief. She weakly tried to sit up, but her arms flailed and her body wouldn’t cooperate. Mike caught her head before it could smack back onto the metal table.
“Whoa, whoa, hey! El, are you okay?” Will touched her shoulder gently. Jonathan and Argyle raced to the tableside.
“No! Max!” El sobbed. “Max…” She rolled toward Mike, pulling into a fetal position.
Mike and Will glanced worriedly at each other.
“Hang in there, little sis,” Argyle said in a low, solemn tone they’d never heard from him before.
Mike crouched down to meet El at eye level, and gently put one hand on her cheek. “El, what happened in there?” She grabbed his hand but just silently shook her head in reply.
“Max isn’t… Gone? Is she?” Will softly asked.
El took in a shaky breath. “I… I don’t think so.”
All four boys sighed in relief.
“I couldn’t stop him!” she sobbed. “There was nothing I could do and he hurt her, he hurt her really bad.”
“Oh, my God,” Mike whispered.
“Papa was right, I wasn’t strong enough! I – I couldn’t stop it…” she trailed off into a helpless whimper, grabbing the front of Mike’s shirt as she tried again to pull herself up. Mike and Will circled their arms around her in tandem, gently supporting her until she could fall against Mike’s chest. Will caught Argyle’s shirt before it could fall to the floor, wrapped it around her shaking shoulders, and then hauled himself up to sit behind her on the table. The three of them wrapped up into a tangle of arms. What could they do but hug in a moment where there were no words that could be of any comfort?
“Guys.” Jonathan cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m really sorry, but… this all means they really need us to get home as fast as we can, right? Can we finish up here and then maybe debrief in the van?”
“Right. Yeah.” Will extracted himself from the hug-pile and ran a hand through his hair. “How can I help?”
“Help me get El to the van,” Mike said. “She can get some rest, we finish up here, and then we haul ass home.”
“Just a sec, brochachos!” Oh, they hadn’t even noticed that Argyle was gone until he hollered from the supply closet.
He emerged with an armload of dish towels, some gray sweatpants, and a big, yellow Surfer Boy Pizza T-shirt that matched his own. “She’s gonna get real itchy with all that salt. Sorry we don’t have, like, proper shower facilities here, but you can use the bathroom sink and probably get a lot of it off, right?”
Part III.
The bathroom floor was surprisingly, fastidiously clean, which was good since El was too exhausted to stand for more than a couple minutes at a time. Mike found a plastic dishpan to fill with warm water and place beside her on the floor, then sat next to her and dunked a clean dish towel into the water.
“Mike?” she said in an adorable half-giggle.
“Yeah?” He was reaching the dishtowel to start cleaning her face. She caught his hand in her own.
“I can do it.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know, I just –”
“I’m okay.”
“Right. Okay, well, what can I do?”
El pointed to her own soaked clothes, then the ones Argyle had found, with a small, sideways grin. “A little privacy maybe?”
“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” He felt his face go hot in a blush as he made an awkward backwards, scoot-stand maneuver towards the bathroom door. He stopped halfway out. “Door cracked or closed?”
She was looking up through her long eyelashes at him. That doe-eyed half grin that always made his insides flip-flop all over the place without even trying because it was just… her. “Closed is fine.”
“Kay. I’m gonna be right out here, just let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
The door shut with a soft click, and he leaned his cheek against the cool, metal surface of it. He listened to the quiet rustles and splashes inside, vigilant for any sign of trouble or need – gently holding the memory of a different bathroom, a different time, when she hated closed doors and he hadn’t yet figured out why his tummy went all soft and fluttery every time looked at her.
And now it felt like any separation was too much – even when it was just a thin metal door between them. The relief was palpable when she finally called out to him.
She’d made her way onto a metal and plastic chair just inside the bathroom door, sitting as she rubbed her hair as dry as she could with the last dish towel. He startled at her unexpected closeness when he swung the door back open.
“Sorry,” she said. God, she looked so small and so much like the first time they'd met...
“Nah, don’t be. I’m just glad you can get around a little better now.”
“It is getting better. I could really use some food or a Coke or something, though.”
“Yeah? Good, I’ll see what I can do.”
El’s eyes widened and she grabbed his wrist. “No.”
“Okay, I won’t, then.” He crouched to softly kiss her forehead. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Together, okay?” Her voice was so small.
“Okay.”
She raised up her arms, then broke into a small smile when this gesture got the laugh she’d been seeking. Mike obediently pulled her up, then wrapped a supportive arm around her waist. She leaned on him to walk back out, meet the others, and finally head home. Together.
Part IV.
El was warm in his arms, fitting so perfectly there, her soft snores rumbling into his chest. God, she even snored cute.
Mike had been resigned to sleeplessness for hours now, horrified by what she’d revealed to them all about the events of her fight against Vecna. How close he’d come to really losing her.
“He had me”. She wrapped her hand around her own throat with a squeezing motion. Mike gasped and pulled her tightly to his chest.
“It was over. He was –“ He could feel the wetness against his shirt as El’s eyes spilled over. “He was only keeping me alive for another minute so he could make me watch him kill the others first.”
It seemed like some kind of miracle – the vines’ grip on Nancy, Steve, Robin, and around around her throat had suddenly faltered, and Vecna disappeared out of the Void. Max lay broken in Lucas’s arms as he wept. The final gate was opened, and Hawkins split at its seams. All four boys listened in silent horror – and no small amount of awe that El’s desperate try at restarting Max’s heart had actually worked.
It didn’t matter that the van stank of stale pot and unwashed teenage boys, or that their nest on the floor had passed the point of uncomfortable many hours ago, or that this blanket they lay on was not even marginally clean. Even the pit of dread in his stomach, not knowing just how bad of a nightmare scene awaited them in Hawkins, was drowned out by the palpable relief pumping through his whole system.
She had fought through hell and barely made it back to him. He was content to just hold her, cocooned safely in his arms for the rest of this long, awful night. (Oh hell, all night. Hopper would have absolutely shit himself!)
Jonathan and Will were bickering in whispers that had slowly intensified to near cartoonish whisper-yelling.
“We have to get home, man!”
“Yeah, and it’s still at least another day’s drive even if we’re hauling ass! You’re telling me we can’t spare an hour or two, get properly cleaned up, and then roll into town being somewhat human and not so repulsive that they’d probably kick us right back out? And eat something. El, at least. She’s still really tired; she used a lot of energy back there.”
“We can take a bathroom break when she’s awake.”
“Jon, I gotta say little bro is speaking some sense on this one…”
“You’re not helping, Argyle!”
“Sorry, but a point is a point. Maybe call a vote on it, man.”
“Hey! Would you quiet the hell down before you wake her up!” Mike whisper-shouted, a touch louder than he’d meant, and then glanced sheepishly at El. She groaned into his chest and then half-opened her eyes. Dammit.
“Did someone say food?” she mumbled.
“Billboard says there’s a truck stop about ten miles ahead,” Argyle piped up. “They’ve got laundry, showers, clothes, food, anything you’d need.”
“Argyle, we’re in a hurry and I don’t have that kind of money –”
“No worries, brochacho, I’ve got you,” Argyle cut Jonathan off. “Just get cleaned up, take care of the little sibs and all. No big thing.”
“I call dibs on the first shower!” Mike said.
“Guess I’m outvoted, then?” Jonathan rolled his eyes.
“Soundly outvoted,” Argyle nodded, breaking into his usual grin. “ Look on the bright side, man, it’s gonna be your turn to drive and now you won’t have to be squinting right into the sun! Heh. Bright side. Literally, get it?”
Part V.
Will watched over Eleven while she got more rest. Mike took the fastest shower of his whole life, then raced to relieve Will of guard duty with arms full of junk food and a clean, soft and fleecy new blanket.
They were quietly, companionably munching on fudge cookies when he hesitated, stopped, and turned to face her.
“El?”
She turned those big eyes toward him and God, he could fall right into them.
“Yes, Mike?”
He took a deep, shuddery breath. “I’m sorry I was so stupid about just… Saying it. You shouldn’t ever have had any doubt about us. About how I feel, I mean. I was just scared. I was scared about, like, what if you didn’t want me anymore some day, you know?”
El scooted closer towards him and took his hand into hers. “Not possible.”
“I don’t know. I – I just know that when we first met, even though it was just for a week and then you were gone... But... I didn’t know how to live without you after that. And I didn’t want to. It hurt so much. And then I was so happy when you came back, and you felt the same way, and – I mean – what would someone as amazing as you want with just some random loser like me that was just in the right place at the right time?”
“You’re not a loser!”
“No, it’s fine, I am. I’m a total dork, and you’re this beautiful, amazing –”
“Also loser. Who lied about not being a loser, and not being bullied, and not being so lonely without you that sometimes I felt like I could hardly sleep or eat or breathe.”
“I still don’t understand why you lied.”
El shrugged. “You would have worried about me.”
“Well, I mean… For future reference, I’m always going to worry about you, so you might as well be honest.”
Ugh, his hands were shaking. She scooted even closer, grabbed both of his hands, and kissed each one softly before pulling them to circle her waist. Then she cradled his cheek in her hand as he melted into the touch.
“Mike.”
“Yeah?”
“It was you that saved me in there. In the Void. I was so close to giving up, until I heard you.”
Mike felt his eyes well up. “You heard me?”
“I heard everything. And then I understood.”
“El –”
“No, listen. You have talked enough. My turn now, okay?”
He took a shuddering breath. “Okay.”
“What I didn’t understand, but I do now… Is…” Her eyes were bright with tears. “You were saying it the whole time.”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure I was there, and you were basically begging me to, and I still didn’t, and I made you cry, and it was awful –” She shoved her hand over his mouth.
“You did say it, Mike. All the time. When I told you what the bad people would do if anyone found out that I was in your house, and you risked everything, just to keep me safe. And when you called me every single night for 353 days? And when –” her voice broke into a sob. “When I broke up with you and you were still the first to help me, against Billy, against the monster, and I was never even afraid of falling down because I knew you’d catch me. And you found me out here. Even if it seemed impossible, you’d be there when I needed you. And you always have – you always have! That is how you say it.”
Mike was fully failing to sniffle back his tears now. “You didn’t know though, El! You were about to – And I didn’t say it – until – and I think it would be so much worse if you were gone and you didn’t know – “
“I know it now, Mike. I know. Even without saying a word.”
Mike shook his head. “No. You’re gonna hear it. I love you. I love you, El.” Mike pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you. I’m gonna say it every day like I should have. Every chance I get. You’re gonna get so sick of me saying it.”
El giggled softly. “That is not possible.”
“I’m sure as hell gonna test that theory. I love you! Love you love you love you!”
El dissolved into a mix of tears and laughter, then shut him up with a kiss.
“I told you, you’re sick of it already!”
“Shut up. I love you.”
***
After the other three boys clambered back into the van, loaded up with enough road-snacks to feed a small army, El and Mike snuggled together into a clean blanket nest. She carded her hands gently through his hair as sleep finally overtook him.
Nothing was okay, but every bit of softness before the oncoming storm was a haven they would hold to for as long as they could. Together.