I'm back with another chapter! If you've read the first chapter, I really hope you liked it and that you continue to like the upcoming ones.

The updates won't always be this quick, this chapter was originally going to be part of the first chapter but it just felt like I was dragging it so I stopped it with future Mike's reaction. So I already had this part written out in bullet points so I'm good to go.

So if the updates get slower it's because I either have writer's block (which has been happening way more than it should) or I haven't planned out the other chapters. I plan out one chapter at a time instead of the whole story because it keeps me focused. So even I don't know how they got there.

Oh, and I really should have said this in the first chapter or story description but this is inspired by lovelysheree's story 'Stranger Things in Stranger Things Time' on Tumblr and Fanfiction.net. I have not copied their story, Ive switched it up a bit, but it's got the same plot points and characters. The dialogue is also switched up.

Anyway, enjoy!

Then the man turned his head, his eyes widening. "Holy shit."

"I told you," Holly said, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched her brother gape, his eyes trained on the teenagers who resembled him and his friends. "I told you something weird happened and you didn't believe me." She smirked proudly.

Younger Mike stared at his future self. He was really taller, like two feet taller than Holly who was ranging around the 5'2" mark, but still really lanky and skinny. His cheekbones were somehow even sharper, his jawline more defined, and his nose was bigger... great, but his eyes held this strange happiness, like he was living his best life and them time traveling had ruined it. His raven black hair was no longer in his childhood 80s haircut but more of a floppy/flowy/fluffy late 90s professor style. He was dressed in a long sleeved, white, buttoned up shirt (with a navy blue tie), tucked into blue jeans. White socks covered his pretty large feet.

The tension was so thick he could have cut it with a knife. The feeling of seeing his future self was so overwhelming. Like, Mike wanted to know everything that happened to him in the future, but at the same time, he didn't want to know anything. He took a deep breath as the older Mike met his eyes, chocolate brown meeting chocolate brown. Younger Mike could faintly see the start of smile wrinkles near the corner of his eyes. Hey, at least he smiled a lot.

After what seemed for hours, older Mike's eyes finally left his, and he exhaled deeply as the feeling in his chest released, and traveled back to Holly. "What the hell is this?" He asked slowly, his eyebrows knitting together and his face scrunching up in confusion. "How did they-" He glanced back at the time travelling teens then back to Holly. "How did they get here?"

"I don't know!" She threw her arms up in the air. "I thought you would know why there's a group of kids in the living room that look exactly like you and your... friends when you were fourteen!"

The older Mike frowned, but his eyes told more: he was annoyed. "How am I supposed to know?" He ran a hand through his hair that just flopped right back down. "Last thing I know is I'm handing out graded tests then my phone starts ringing and it's my delusional sister telling me something weird is going on and this-" He gestured to the groups of teens sitting on the couch. "This is not what I was expecting. Are you sure this isn't some joke?"

"Ten years later and you're still stupid!" Dustin piped up from his spot on the floor.

"Okay... not a joke," older Mike said, crossing his arms and letting out a huff.

Holly's eyes widened and she tugged on his sleeve. "You're just going to believe them?"

"What do you want me to do?" Mike snapped, giving her an annoyed look and she instantly backed off, holding up her arms in surrender. "Scientifically, time travel isn't necessarily impossible..."

"Oh my God." Holly face palmed. "And you call me delusional. I'm going to Ashley's while you figure this shit out." She turned around, grabbed her phone off the table, and headed for the door but turned around before she walked out. "Oh, and by the way, Mom and Dad are coming home tomorrow so if you can't get them back by tonight, then you've got to find another place for them to stay."

Older Mike nodded slowly, not looking at her. "Alright, thanks, Holls." She hummed in reply before walking outside and shutting the door behind her. He stood there, staring at the younger Mike, making him squirm in his seat awkwardly. Sighing, he walked across the living room and sat down in the chair, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, staring at them expectantly.

"What's going on with your hair?" Dustin, yet again, broke the silence. "It's like all floppy and almost wavy?" He looked over at younger Mike. "And your hair looks like a freaking mushroom on top of your head and-"

"It's the style," Older Mike deadpanned.

El shrugged. "I like it."

Younger Mike gave El a side glance, the corner of his lips tugging up. "Really?"

"Yeah." She smiled wider when she met younger Mike's gaze.

However, upon hearing her soft voice, the older Mike's eyes fell onto El and they softened, not in a creepy way, just... forget it. He smiled and then cleared his throat, the smile disappearing. "So," he started, "What's happened so far? You know in your time so I don't say anything I'm not supposed to. You know, in case you really are from the past, I don't-"

"We are! " Dustin insisted.

"Okay." Older Mike held up his hands. "What's happened."

"The second coming of the Mind Flayer was just destroyed almost a year ago," Lucas answered.

Max spoke up, shaking her head as if to clear up confusion. "Hold on, haven't you already experienced this? Like, don't you remember meeting your future self? You know, since you're Mike and Mike's right there." She pointed over to younger Mike. "Shouldn't you like already know?"

Older Mike shook his head slowly.

"Oh, Max, Max, Max," Dustin sighed, shaking his head, sending his curls into a frenzy. "You see, we traveled to the future but not really necessarily our future. Our river is separated from this river although it is very possible to swim up and down it, but that doesn't seem to be the case here," He tried to explain, looking up at the older Mike with raised eyebrow.

He blinked at the explanation. "I can tell you that the demogorgon and the mind flayer, all that happened in this... river, but I can't say anything after that. Anyway, do you guys know how you got here? What's the last thing you guys remember?"

Will pursed his lips before answering, "We went to explore Hawkins Lab-"

"What!?" Older Mike exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting upward, disappearing under his hair, his mouth was slightly hanging open as he fumbled for something in his pocket, taking out a device similar to the one Holly had used. He shot out of his chair, flipping it open. "I need to make a few calls," he told them before walking to the other side of the room as if that would give him privacy, and dialed in a few numbers before holding it up to his ear.

"A few calls?" Mike whispered mostly to himself then raised his voice slightly, "To who?"

"You'll... know them," Older Mike hesitated, leaning against the wall that blocked their view of the doorway, his fingers tapping nervously against it. "Come on... come on, pick up," he muttered then there was another voice (more feminine) speaking on the other side of the phone, though they couldn't make out any words. Then older Mike spoke in the softest voice they had ever heard, "Hey, sorry, I know you're at work...I'm at my parents house and I uh, need you to come as quick as you can... something weird's been happening... yeah, I'm okay...I'll explain once you're here...are you free?... oh, could you tell them-?...okay...I told you, I'm fine, stop worrying so much... mhm... I love you too... bye." He took the phone away from his ear and began dialing another number.

Lucas gaped. "Who were you talking to? Sounded highly intimate." He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly. Sure this Mike was ten years into the future but he was still his best friend. Mike gave him a look. "What? You said: 'I love you too'."

"So...?" older Mike said, rolling his eyes. "Not that it's any of your business but I was talking to my wife."

The younger Mike's eyes widened. "What? Your wife?"

"Uh, yeah." The older Mike nodded then cursed under his breath, and began redialing the number before bringing it back to his ear. "Hey... I need you to come to my parents' real quick.."

Everyone just stared at younger Mike with teasing smiled as he blushed all the way to the roots of his hair. Well, El just stared at him blankly. She didn't understand why he seemed so nervous about being married. Not that she didn't get a bit nervous when he announced it was his wife on the phone and that she was going to be here in a few minutes. What if- what if it wasn't here and some other girl? Sure they were only fourteen but she wouldn't and say it hasn't been on the back of her mind... about being with Mike forever. And now that they were in the future... so, yeah, what if it wasn't her? What if they broke up and went their separate ways, and never spoke to each other again? El didn't know if she'd be able to deal with that.

But the rest of the party members, by the way they were smirking at Mike or snickering or speaking in hushed voices, teasing him, they had an inkling who older Mike was married to and they're never going to let him live it down. Well, until the day came, that is. But there was also a part of all of them that was shocked. Mike Wheeler? The boy who- before El was brought into his life- could barely talk to a girl without stuttering was married at the age of twenty-five? It was a pretty hard pill to swallow.

By the time older Mike had finished the phone calls, the teasing had stopped and they were all sitting quietly on the couch, watching as he sat back down in the chair, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "What?" He finally asked, getting a bit uncomfortable by how they were all just staring at him. "I want to wait to ask questions until they're all here."

"Who? Your wife?" Lucas grinned.

Rolling his eyes, older Mike leaned back into the chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I really should have kept my mouth shut." He pulled his hand away and resumed his slouching position, his eyes drifting between the teenagers.

"So, how long have you and your wife been married for?" Max asked.

Older Mike raised an eyebrow. "Five? Six years? One of those." He shrugged as if it was now big deal then his eyes widened. "Shit. Okay, that's all I'm telling you." He shook his head slowly. "Anytime someone brings her up I just can't help myself but talk about it. I need to work on that," He mumbled to himself.

"And who may your wife be?" Dustin pressed, giving younger Mike a side glance.

"Look, you'll find out when she gets here okay? Now enough with the questions and-"

He was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door followed by it opening, and a soft feminine voice calling out, "Mike? Sorry it took me a while to get here," She started and the teenagers tried to see who it was but the wall was blocking their view. "I passed by the pharmacy and decided to grab my medication for my migraines." The door shut and older Mike, once again, shot out of his chair and behind the wall. "Oh! Hi." The party could practically hear the woman smile through her words. "I heard you got sick... you're not sick."

"No, I'm sorry," older Mike's voice spoke up from behind the wall. "Holly called me saying to get here as soon as I could. At first I thought it was a joke but then... well, just come see for yourself."

The party was practically waiting on the edge of their seats when they appeared.

"What did she call you about? Her..." The woman's voice trailed off as she walked into the living room, her caramel eyes landing on the teenagers sitting on the couch. She gaped, her gaze taking in all of their faces, though it lingered on El, who seemed to recognize the woman, as did the rest of the group.

Older Mike nodded slowly, his eyes seemed to be glued to the woman's face, and cleared his throat, gesturing to the teenagers who stared straight back at the woman with identical facial expressions. After all these years, she still had shoulder length hair that still had that tight curl/wave thing going on, and caramel eyes that still held the same curiosity. The only difference was she was a bit taller, not by much, the top of her head reached Mike's shoulders, and her cheekbones were just a tad bit sharper. She wore a light peach colored, shot sleeved, button up shirt tucked into jeans.

She looked less like a girl and more of a woman, which made sense. She looked like El.

She stared at them for a few extra seconds before slowly turning to look at older Mike. "What the hell did you do now?" Crossing her arms, she fixed her gaze into a glare. "Did you figure out how to make clones or something?"

"Why does everyone think this is my fault!?" older Mike exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, huffing in frustration. "I didn't do anything, El, I promise." Her gaze softened. "Holly called me and this is what I was greeted with." He gestured to the couch that had somehow adopted six teenagers.

"So that's why- I went to your classroom to bring you lunch and you weren't there." Her eyebrows furrowed and she stared up at him. "They told me you were sick so I just went back to my office, and that's why I kept asking if you're okay." She slapped his arm lightly. "And be happy I care! Don't tell me to stop, you old ass."

"I'm not old," older Mike grumbled but he had the trace of a small smile playing on his lips.

Older El hummed. "You sure act like it sometimes." Glancing back at the group of teenage time travelers, she leaned in close to whisper into Mike's ear, "Do they just stare or are they gonna say something?"

However, apparently Dustin heard, "Are you shitting me right now? You come home and find that your friends from ten years ago are sitting on your in laws' couch and all you say is if we're gonna talk or just stare? Like why not get us home, huh?"

Older El stared at him, a surprised look written on her face.

"You know," older Mike said, "You could learn to be a bit more respectful." He walked over to the chair and sat back down, leaning against the back rest, his eyes trained on Dustin. "We don't have to help you at all."

"Calm down, Mike," older El spoke softly as she followed him to the chair, squeezing herself down beside him, half on the chair, and half on his lap. She lifted her arm so it wasn't squished between them, placing it behind him, her palm against his back, right below the nap of his neck.

"Okay," older Mike breathed and wrapped his arm around her, his hand resting against her left hip.

Dustin snorted. "I swear this Mike-" He jabbed his thumb at younger Mike. "-said the same thing when El told him it was going to be okay before we entered the Lab."

Older El whipped her head in Dustin's direction. "Excuse me, what?"

"They went to explore Hawkins Lab," older Mike told her, squeezing her hip.

"W-why would you do that?" She asked.

"I don't know." Dustin shrugged. "It sounded fun at the time, and it was, before that room started spinning and making that weird noise and-"

"Spinning room?" older Mike interjected, glancing to older El. "Do you remember a spinning room?" She shook her head, biting her lip. "We'll talk about it when everyone else gets here."

They sat in silence, staring at each other, trying to soak it all in. It was so weird seeing their past and future selves. It almost seemed like a dream... but it wasn't. This was real. These kids had time traveled ten years into the future and somehow, the lab was involved. Both older and younger El knew this. The spinning room didn't make sense, but it's Hawkins Lab. Anything can happen in there. Super powered children... gates to a different dimension... monster... and so much more had happened in there.

The door bell rang not five minutes later, causing older El to jump slightly, startled out of her thoughts and she took a deep breath, leaning deeper into older Mike. He turned his head to look at her, worry traced into every one of his features. "You okay?" He whispered, squeezing her hip for the second time.

"Yeah," older El breathed, getting lost in his warm brown eyes. Their faces were so close, their breath mingled together and she did really want to kiss him, but they had other things, more serious things, to deal with. She slowly pulled back a bit before she completely lost herself in his gaze, and nodded her head toward the door, pulling it open with her mind.

"Now tell me," Another familiar voice said from the doorway before the door closed. "Tell me why I had to drive ten minutes to your parents' house, Michael Wheeler." Then the familiar face of Dustin Henderson came into the living room and his eyes widened as he saw the kids on the couch. He groaned and leaned against the wall. "I thought all this stupid shit was over and I'd be able to live my life in peace! But I guess not," He deadpanned, lifting his shoulder in a half shrug.

"And it's connected to the lab," older Mike informed older Dustin, giving the younger Dustin a side glance which was more of a side glare. "They were inside the lab then all of a sudden boom! " He shouted and waved his hand in the air, startling El. "Sorry," He muttered to her before continuing, "Then boom! I've got Holly calling me to get off work early and come home and this is the shit I'm greeted with."

"This shit is crazy," older Dustin muttered, though he looked kind of amazed. "Just so you two know-" He moved his finger between older Mike and El. "-that once this is all is over, it is my discovery. My time travel discovery!"

Older El frowned. "Dustin, we can't announce to the world that-"

"No, no, no, Ellie. You've got it all wrong." Older Dustin shook his head slowly as if he was disappointed in her misunderstanding. "Nothing about the actual... teenagers will be involved. It will just be another theory on how time travel worlds that I will be announcing to the world."

"Just- just don't mention me," older El pleaded, giving him a serious look and a secret message passed between them. He nodded understandingly. "And not the lab either, please." She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again. "I don't need- you know."

"I won't, don't worry." Older Dustin walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "You're safe with us." He offered a small smile and she nodded in return. "Good, so should we start by asking these guys some questions or...?"

"We're waiting until-" Mike was interrupted again by the door opening and closing.

"Why the hell are we at your parents' house, Mike!?" A deep voice called from the entryway, following by hushed bickering voices. "This is just weird, man! When's the last time we were all here together? Two Thanksgivings ago?" Then Lucas Sinclair stepped into the living room, his jaw dropping when he spotted the teenagers on the couch. "I don't even know if I should ask."

An older version of Max followed close behind, peering over his shoulder, and she instantly groaned, throwing her head back then pointed an accusing finger at older Mike. "Wheeler, you did not tell me to get my ass over here quickly just so I had to deal with him again!" She pointed at younger Mike on the couch who gulped. "He's so much more annoying than you and you're still really annoying!"

"I hate you," older Mike deadpanned, "with a passion."

"Micheal," older El scolded. "Stop being a grumpy old man and explain to them what the hell is going on because Will looks like he's doing a whole science experiment in his head and that he's going to blow up soon if he doesn't figure this out!" She gestured to the older version of Will who was staring at the teens with a look of determination.

"Fine." Older Mike rolled his eyes. "Let's go to the kitchen. There's more room." He removed his arm from around older El and pushed in her back, silently telling her to get up, and she did. Standing up, he met younger Mike's eyes on the way to the kitchen and almost laughed. The kid looked like he was going to overflow with awkwardness. "Loosen up," He told him before grabbed a chair next to older El and sitting down.

"W-what?" Younger Mike asked him as he took a seat across from him, younger El on his right and younger Will on his left. "What do you mean 'loosen up'?"

Older Mike chuckled. "You're practically shaking."

"Not like you were any better," older El muttered, elbowing him in the stomach.

"Okay, now can we get an explanation? Please?" older Max asked from her spot beside older Lucas and older Will. "Because I'm getting a weird feeling about this and I'm guessing it's not a good one so lets just figure this out, send them back, and I can live my life. And by that I mean, El and I are booking a trip to California for a week to get away from stress."

Older El's eyes brightened. "Yes! Let's do that."

"You're leaving me?" older Mike frowned and he grabbed her hand from under the table.

"You and Lucas can trash the house and I won't even know," older El said. "You'll live."

"Excuse me!" Younger Dustin shouted. "We're sort of from ten years in the past and I'd like to get home before tomorrow because my mom is making me my favorite meal and I promised both her and Mike's parents I'd be home for dinner so I have to go eat two dinners tonight! So stop making heart eyes and let's get a game plan going!"

Older Dustin blinked then broke into a smile. "I like this guy."

"I'm you, dumbass!" younger Dustin shouted.

"So... If I'm you and you're me then you also called yourself a dumbass," older Dustin commented. "HA!"

"Enough!" Both Mike's exclaimed, equally as annoyed but older Mike continued, "I'm sorry... Dustin but you're probably not going to get home today." He rubbed his forehead. "We have no idea how you all got here so how about, Will, you tell me what happened." He pointed at the younger Will. "You left off with exploring the lab."

Younger Will cleared his throat and nodded, disconnecting awkward eye contact with the older version of himself. He glanced back at older Mike. "So we all agreed it would be fun to explore the lab since it's abandoned and all that. We were all curious about where... El was kept most her life." His green eyes drifted to older El who was staring at him with this look in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. "Anyway, we came across this room that El didn't even recognize. The only thing inside was a single chair and the leather seemed.. ripped." His mind replayed the events. "Once we were all inside the door slammed shut and wouldn't let us out. Then there was this terrible screeching noise and room seemed to spin. I remember my head feeling like it was caving in on itself. It was a terrible feeling."

Younger Max cut in, "It felt almost like a really bad migraine, only the screeching made it worse, some us were literally on the ground silently screaming." She glanced at Lucas and Will. "And our flashlights- our flashlights started flashing on and off. But then it just stopped, everything stopped. The spinning, the screeching, the headache, it all went away and the door opened."

"Nothing seemed weird at first," younger Mike said. "We decided to leave after that and everything was fine except for the weather. It was warmer and when we were walking back to my house, there was a road that was fixed that wasn't when we were there before."

"So you guy literally time traveled," older Lucas pointed out the obvious. "How?"

"We... don't know," younger El said softly. "We left the lab and I felt that something was off but I didn't say anything. Everything looked different too and there was a sign saying it was the year- the year..." She trailed off, not remembering.

Older El helped her out. "1996."

"Yes." Younger El nodded. "And we came here because we thought maybe it was a prank but then Holly opened the door and we knew it wasn't."

Then younger Lucas snapped his fingers. "El." He pointed at younger El. "You were upset when we went into your old room. Like, really, really upset. And when the room was spinning, your nose was bleeding. Did you do-"

"I didn't do anything!" Younger El defended herself. "I don't know why my nose was bleeding."

Leaning forward, older El softly spoke, "El." She gained the younger girl's attention. "I know it's hard to control your powers when you're angry. It's really hard. Remember that argument with Hop in the cabin when you were in hiding?" The younger El nodded. "You lost control. It's understandable but this is serious. So, think. Even if you didn't mean to, do you think it's possible that you accidentally brought you guys here?" She then added, "And I know you don't like being accused of things but we need to know."

"And if you think you might have done something, do you know how to reverse it?" The older Mike asked, his voice just as soft. "Or if you've ever done anything like this before in the lab?"

"No," The younger El responded a bit shakily then added, "and no."

The older Mike leaned back into his chair. "Is that all you guys remember? What did the screeching sound like? Was it familiar? Foreign? unrecognizable? We need all the answers and clues we can get here, guys."

"It was really loud and..." The younger Will pursed his lips. "It sounded a bit familiar but at the same time it didn't. I feel like- I feel like I've faintly heard it when I was in the upside down... but it wasn't necessarily the demogorgon... or the mind flayer. It was just... there, existing."

"You've also been in the upside down," older El said to her younger self. "Do you remember-?"

She shook her head. "I was only in there for a little bit."

"Okay." The older El offered a kind smile then turned back to Will, turning serious. "Will, could you see what was making the sound? How faint was it?"

"I couldn't see it," He said, tapping his fingers gently against the table to ease his anxiousness. Everything that wasn't matching up was suddenly coming together and it terrified him. The lab... the screeching... the noise in the upside down. "It was just there, mixing in with everything else but it also kind of sounded like a machine. But I also don't know why the room spun like that."

"We'll get to that," older Max said. "But the headaches and the nosebleed. That was probably because of the screeching. So, Will, when you were in the upside down, did you bleed when you heard it?"

He shook his head. "No, El was the only one out of all of us who was bleeding."

"It's because the pressure. You said it felt like your head was caving in on itself?" Older El asked and received a curt nod from the teens. "Maybe the sound was so loud... that your heads really were doing that but internally. So it would make sense that El would bleed. Her brain must have misinterpreted it and thought she was using her powers. Powers put a lot of pressure on our heads."

Older Dustin spoke up, counting on his fingers. "For clues we got, the lab, the upside down, screeching, a spinning room... wait." He paused and turned toward younger Max. "Did you say the door wouldn't open until everything was over with? And the flashlights were flickering?" She nodded. "Okay so more clues, lights flickering and an unknown invisible force."

"We need a game plan," Younger Dustin chimed in and rolled his eyes when he noticed everyone staring at him blankly. "If we're going to get back to the past, we need to go back into the lab and figure out what it is. What if... the lab wasn't abandoned after all? And there's something living there? Just the part we were in... was abandoned? But not the whole thing."

Older Lucas nodded. "That... makes sense. So," he said, looking at the older Mike. "When do we go to the lab? And where are these guys staying if we can't get them back tonight?"

"They have the biggest house out of all of us," older Max said, pointing at older Mike and El.

Older Mike shook his head. "Our neighbors would be suspicious if we brought six kids into our house. They've been eyeing us like a hawk ever since we moved in. Saying how we're trouble making kids." He caught the teenagers' eyes. "They're like in their seventies. Anyway, each of us can bring home our... younger selves, so if anyone asks just say you're siblings."

"Sounds like a plan," older Will agreed. "But when do we leave for the lab?"

"Tomorrow morning." Older Mike glanced at older El for confirmation and she nodded. "So, enjoy your evening guys and get sleep because we're getting ourselves into some dangerous shit tomorrow. Meet us behind the lab at ten in the morning, got it?" He asked as everyone started getting up from their seats, including him.

Older Dustin saluted him. "Yes, sir! Anyway, see you guys tomorrow. Past Dustin and me are gonna be watching Star Wars reruns all night!" He exclaimed, earning an excited whoop from younger Dustin, before heading out the door, followed by Max and Lucas who waved them a goodbye, leaving Will, El, and Mike with their younger clones.

"When we thought it was over," older Will laughed humorlessly. "Anyway, you guys take care until tomorrow. We have no idea what we're going to be put up against." He gave Mike a clap on the shoulder before hugging his sister. "Might want to think about calling Mom and Dad to come with us tomorrow. They're pretty useful."

"I will," older El promised him once they pulled back. "Get good sleep unlike the Dustins."

"We will!" They both called before they headed out the door.

The older versions of Mike and El shared a glance before turning to the younger versions of themselves, watching as they laughed quietly about something younger Mike said. Older El smiled before turning to her husband. "I'll take Mike. I want to talk to him."

"Okay. Just, don't tell him too much," older Mike said in a teasing tone.

"I won't." Older El rolled her eyes. "I'll see you at home?" He nodded as she grabbed her keys off the island and walked over to the door where younger Mike and El were hanging out, and slipped on her shoes. "Mike, you're riding with me. Ready?"

Younger Mike glanced up at her then back at the younger El who nodded, giving him a smile, and squeezing his hand gently. "Yeah." He pulled his hand away, gave one last smile, and awkward wave toward older Mike, and followed older El out to her car. Without a word she unlocked the doors and slid into the drivers seat, and he slid into the passenger side, instantly buckling his seat belt. He bounced his leg nervously, his eyes trained on the doorway to his house where El or his future self still haven't come out yet.

"He's not going to kill her you know," She spoke from beside him as she started pulling out of the driveway, taking a left turn so she could get out of the cul-de-sac. He stared at her with wide eyes. "You're watching the door like she's going to run out screaming with... Mike following her with a knife in hand. They're just waiting for me to back out."

He swallowed thickly. "Oh, right."

"You were awfully quiet in there," older El pointed out as she turned onto the main road, turning on the radio with her mind and a song he's never heard before started playing. "And I know that Mike Wheeler is not a quiet person. Especially when it comes to that nerdy shit. So, what's going on in that big brain of yours?"

"Are you, uh, really supposed to be talking to me?" Mike asked her, his eyebrows furrowing. "And why do you care anyway? I don't know you, you don't know me. What's the point?" He didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did. "Sorry."

She shook her head, never taking her eyes off the road. "No, no, it's alright. And you may not know me but one day you will... ten years from now. But, Mike, I know you, okay? You may not see that yet but in the future you'll understand. And right now, I know something is bothering you so spill."

"You sound like Nancy."

"Eh, I talk to her over the phone a lot." She shrugged as she stopped at a red light.

"Over the phone? Doesn't she live here?" Mike asked.

Older El laughed softly. "Don't tell... older Mike that I said this but no, her and Jonathan moved to Indianapolis after he graduated college." She pressed down on the gas when the light turned green. "Now stop trying to change the subject. What's going on?"

"I don't know," he mumbled but then spoke up, "I guess just finding out that in ten years... I'm married. Well, really in five years and that's just a really hard pill to swallow, and then to find out it's you-"

"Hold on, how did you know in five years-?" She asked, stopping again at a red light, letting two teenage girls walk across, giving them a small wave when they looked over. They must have recognized her because they smiled at waved back before continued driving.

Mike frowned. "Future me said you guys got married five or six years ago?"

"That bitch," older El laughed as she took a right turn. "Five years. We got married at twenty."

"How did you... know that he- I, ugh, was the one? I mean, you didn't really get a fair shot. You met him in the rain and all that but he was the only guy you dated... I'm assuming," Mike guessed, his cheeks flaring up. "What if there's someone else out there that you belong with but he just stole it away from you?"

At that, older El full on laughed. "You'd assume correctly. And how do I know if he's the one? I didn't at first because we were barely fourteen when we started dating." She laughed quietly to herself then at the next thought that came to her mind. "But I watched enough soap operas by the time that I was fifteen to know that it was true. And after all we'd been through together, there was no way we were going to be separated again."

"Yeah, but I sometimes still doubt that she actually, you know and-"

She cut him off. "What's the last thing that happened in your time?"

Mike furrowed his brows. "The second coming of the mind flayer, Russians, all that stuff."

"Okay good," She started, taking a left turn down a busier street. "So you already lied and all that stuff and she dumped your ass." She saw his face through the corner of her eye. "By the way, she's really sorry about that, you know." He looked at her expectantly. "She really didn't want to do it- or maybe in your time she did- but I know that she regretted it afterwards. She never stopped liking you, or trusting you. And when she said she loved you, she truly meant it, I promise."

"Really?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yup. She loves you, more than you know." She took another left and pulled into a driveway of a fairly large house for only two people. "And she trusts you, a lot." Parking the car in front of the garage, older El took the keys out of the ignition and unlocked the car, opening her car door. "Come on." Then she stepped outside only to open the back door and take out a small white paper bag before shutting the door and locking it.

"What's that?" Mike blurted without meaning to as he followed her up to the front steps. The house was smaller than his parents but not by much. It was two stories, he could tell by looking at it, and the outside was painted a nice light tan color, not too dark.

"Oh, this?" Older El looked down at the bag in her hands. "Medication for these migraines I've been getting recently. It's really weird. My nose bleeds and it's really bad. I've been to the doctor a couple times for it but they really can't do anything about it." Taking out the house key, she opened the screen door and stuck it into the lock, pushing open the main door. "You can leave your shoes on the door mat inside."

Mike followed her in and instantly took a look around at what he could see in his line of vision as he took his shoes off, placing them on the doormat. It was a nice house, the kitchen to his lift, the living room to his right, and the staircase in between the kitchen and living room though it was a little bit more to the right. It reminded him a lot of his house, the layout was similar.

In the living room, of what he could see when she turned the lights on, was a nice couch pressed up against the far wall with a coffee table in front, and a TV on a TV stand against the other wall, a large window behind it. Beside the couch, on the other wall, was a similar chair to the one at his parents. In the kitchen was a small circular table with a vase of white flowers in the middle and to the left of that was an island much like the one back at home.

"Nice place," He complimented.

Older El looked behind her shoulder at him while she grabbed the small container of pills out of the white bag and shook two into her hand, picking up the glass of water she recently filled, plopping the pills into her mouth before taking a gulp of water. "Thanks," She said once the glass was empty and in the sink. She placed the small container into, what he assumed, the medicine cabinet. "I'm sorry, do you want anything to drink? I'm thinking about ordering a pizza for dinner. Any preference?"

"Uh." Mike bit his lip and moved back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Pepperoni?"

"Figures," She muttered with a laugh. "We'll just wait till the others get here then I'll order." She turned around and leaned against the island, watching him. "You know, you don't have to stand there. You can come in. I can find a movie or something if you want to watch something? Oh, do you have to use the bathroom? Do you want anything to drink?"

Mike raised an eyebrow. Why was she being so... nice? He was the past self of her husband, shouldn't that creep her out a little bit? And why was she acting more motherly than his actual mother? It just didn't make sense. "Um, why are you being so nice to me? Shouldn't you be a little creeped out that the past self of your... husband is standing in your house?"

Her gaze darkened just the slightest bit. "Out of all the things I've been through... of all things I've seen, this is the least creepy of them all. Trust me." Then her gaze turned back to normal, and she smiled. "But seriously, do you need to use the bathroom or need something to drink?"

"No thanks, I'm good." He offered a small smile but nearly jumped out of his skin when the door behind him burst open and the older version of himself walked inside, followed by El who was looking quite bored. "Hey," he greeted her and she smiled. "How was riding in the car with future Mike Wheeler?" He tried to keep his voice low.

Younger El shrugged then stifled a giggle. "He didn't say much but he almost crashed the car because he was too busy trying to find a good radio station."

"Micheal! " Older El exclaimed from across the room. "That's the third time that's happened!"

"I'm sorry!" Older Mike said in reply and came to stand in front of her, leaning down to give her a quick kiss before walking over to the fridge, pulling it open and taking out the carton of orange juice, pouring some into an empty glass he recently pulled out from the cabinet.

Older El crossed her arms as he watched him. "That's for breakfast."

He waved her off dismissively and turned back around to face the kids who were watching him with raised eyebrows and amused smiles. He shook the carton. "You've tried orange juice yet?" He asked the younger version of El who shook her head slowly. "Do you want some?"

"You say that in such a creepy way," older El teased. "Like a kidnapper."

"How am I going to kidnap her?" Older Mike gave her a look. "She's the past you."

"I'm just messing around, old man." She rolled her eyes and pulled another glass from the cabinet, setting it down in front of him so he could pour El a glass of orange juice once she noticed the younger her had made her way over to the island. She took the glance, muttered a thank you, then made her way back to the kitchen table where Mike had seated himself.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not an old man. Now, I'm going to change into something comfier."

Older El grabbed his tie and tugged him toward her, lowering her voice. "But you look so cute!"

"Oh shut up," older Mike laughed and walked over to the stairs.

She rolled her eyes as she watched him go before walking into the living room and turning on the TV, searching for a channel that was playing things from the 80s. Finally, she came across Ghostbusters and clicked on it. "There's a movie on if you guys want to watch it. I'm going to go grab you guys something to wear to bed!" She told them before darting up the stairs, slowing a she reached the top, walking to the end of the hallway and pushing open the door to her and Mike's bedroom.

"Hey," He greeted her as he pulled a sweatshirt over his head.

"You've got to quit being such a crab bucket," El told him as she pulled open the drawers of her dresser, searching for something that would fit the younger El. "It doesn't suit you." She pulled out a plain black T-shirt she grew out of a few years ago but never threw out, dropping it on the ground so she could search for some pants.

"Well, sorry for being upset that us from the past ruined my mood," He said from his spot on her edge of the bed, watching her as she looked for clothes. She pulled out a pair of too small sweatpants and dropped them next to the shit, turning around to stare at Mike with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"How did they ruin your mood?" El rolled her eyes.

Mike stretched out his arms and she walked into them, standing between his legs, and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, one of her hands coming up to rake through his dark hair. He smiled against her collar bone, his cheek pressed against her chest, and his arms tightening their hold around her waist. "Remember we were going to go out tonight?" He mumbled. "To that fancy new place down town where they have the music and the dancing? And you were going to wear that pretty red dress you bought last weekend when Max took you shopping for proper date outfits."

"We'll just go next Friday night," El reasoned. "When everything is over with, okay?"

Lifting his head so he could look at her, he smiled. "What would I ever do without you, El Wheeler," He muttered, his eyes flicking down to her lips then back up to her eyes that stared into his own lovingly.

"I don't think you'd be here," She replied then leaned forward, pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss, one that looked to be so little but felt to be so much. Many more words were spoken with that kiss then with actually verbalizing. Everything they felt over the course of a few ours poured between them. They were worried about the next few days to come. Worried about losing each other once again.

They pulled away with a small gasp, their foreheads coming to rest against each other, their eyes still closed, just enjoying each other's company. Once they finally opened their eyes, they smiled and then laughed, the exhaustion from the stressful, yet not stressful, day taking its toll on the both of them.

"I love you," She whispered.

"You have no idea, El," He replied, "how much I love you."

She smiled before pulling away from him, much to his disappointment, and grabbed the clothes off the ground, folding them neatly before holding them in the crook of her arm. "You should find some clothes that are too small for you so younger Mike can wear them to bed."

"Where are they sleeping?" Mike asked as he stood, walking over to his dresser, and starting to dig through the drawers in search of outgrown clothes. He pulled out a Star Wars T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants.

El pursed her lips. "The guest room."

"Ah." He watched her carefully as she set the clothes down on the bed then pulled out a black Star Wars T-shirt and grey sweatpants, but averted his eyes once she started changing. Sure, they were married but he was still a gentleman, not a perv. He looked back once she cleared her throat to find her shaking her head. "What?"

"Nothing." She grabbed the clothes off the bed and started toward the door, glancing behind her shoulder and rolling her eyes. "You coming or no?"

"Oh, right." Mike followed her out of the room, shutting the lights off as he left, and bounded down the stairs behind her, nearly running into her back when she suddenly froze in the entryway to the living room, slowly backing away. He attempted to talk but she just shushed him in reply. "What?" He tried again once they were back on the first step, hiding behind a wall.

She let out a light laugh. "Turns out we're not the only ones who were kissing."

Mike's eyes widened. "Oh. Are you going to stop them or...?"

"Yes, hold on." El just stood there for a few more seconds before she slapped her hand against the wall and yelled, "Micheal! Don't trip me!" She gave him a look as if she was telling him: come on, dipshit, catch up and play along!

"I didn't mean to!" He shouted, not taking his eyes off her face as she tried not to laugh.

Rolling her eyes, El grabbed his free hand and pulled him down the stairs and into the living room where the younger Mike and El were sitting on the couch, watching the movie like nothing had ever happened. Older El smiled when she saw them holding hands and she felt a bit nostalgic. Yes, being marries was awesome, but she kind of missed having to sneak around.

"Hey, guys," older El greeted. "We brought you guys some clothes. You guys can go change while I order the pizza and older Mike stands here useless." She shoved older Mike's shoulder for exaggeration then handed the sweats and shirt over to El. "Here you go. The bathroom is right around the corner." She pointed to the kitchen.

Older Mike handed his younger self the clothes as he passed by, clapping him on the shoulder as if to say: good job, you sneaky ass, but you got caught by your future wife, so you're really not a sneak ass but you don't know that, so I'll give you the credit.

His eyes drifted to TV and instantly lit up. "Ghostbusters!" He shouted excitedly and hopped onto the couch, placing his feet on the coffee table and leaning back against the couch. "God, I don't remember the last time I actually sat down and watched it. When I was writing one of my books I had it on but I wasn't really watching it."

Older El smiled at him as she dialed the number to the only pizza place in Hawkins, holding the phone up to her ear as it started to ring. "Um, hello?...Yes... I'd like to place an order... one large pepperoni pizza with a side of bread sticks, please... yup... South 1108, Maple Avenue... thank you so much... you too... bye." She pulled her phone away and turned it off, placing it down on the coffee table.

The younger versions of themselves walked in at that point dressed in their borrowed pajamas, offering them equally as awkward smiles as they came to sit on the opposite end of the couch as older Mike who was too engrossed in the movie to even notice them walk in.

"The pizza will be here in ten minutes," older El told them before heading into the kitchen to set up the dinner table. Not that she was opposed to eating in the living room, she just would feel more comfortable in the kitchen for some odd reason if they were going to ask questions. It just felt more professional... and there was more room for people to sit. She opened the cabinets and pulled out four paper plates and four more water glasses and went to set them on the table.

The ten minutes seemed to go by in a gif because sooner then later, older El was paying the pizza delivery guy (who actually didn't smell like a barn this time) and taking the pizza into the kitchen. Removing the vase of flowers from the table, she placed them on the island, and set the pizza box in the center of the table.

"The pizza's here!" She called and could have sworn older Mike bolted into the kitchen and literally slid into his seat, looking at the pizza as if he were in love with it. But, she couldn't blame him. That's probably how she looked when he announced in the mornings that the eggos were ready.

Mike and El (the younger ones) came in last and took seats next to each other, taking a couple slices of pizza, both muttering thank yous. A couple minutes passed by before younger Mike decided to break the silence, "So, where do you guys work and what do you do?" He attempted small talk.

Older El ignored the look she was receiving from the older Mike as she answered, "We both work at Hawkins High. He's a physics teacher, and an author on the side, and I'm the school counselor which is why those girls who I let cross in front of me waved back," She told younger Mike who nodded as he remembered.

"Oh! We saw the billboard for his new book," El spoke up for like the first time since she stepped into the house. "That's how we knew the year."

The older Mike perked up. "There's a billboard!? We're totally driving by that on our way to the lab tomorrow!" His smile disappeared when he noticed both of the Els grimace. "Oh, I'm sorry, guys, I wasn't excited about the lab... about the billboard."

The older El stared at him for a minute before bursting into a fit of giggles, covering her face with her hands when the giggles turned to laughter which turned her face red. Once she calmed down, still laughing a bit, she uncovered her face. "You are so ridiculous sometimes." She smiled fondly. "We know you weren't excited about the lab."

"Oh, okay." He shrugged and grabbed another slice of pizza and a bread stick, plopping them down on his plate.

"See, Mike," She addressed the younger one. "Ten years later and he's still super awkward."

Younger El giggled. "You don't have anything to worry about then."

"W-what?" Younger Mike stuttered.

Both the girls laughed.

Dinner carried on in a comfortable silence, once in a while it was broken when someone would make a joke or when older Mike choked on his pizza because he laughed so hard, and older El almost had a heart attack because of it, but that also dissolved into more laughter. And soon, after watching the second Ghostbusters, they all headed up to bed.

"Here, you guys can sleep in the guest room." Older El pushed open the door to the first room on the right as older Mike headed off to bed after bidding them a goodnight. "It's only one bed but I trust you two won't do anything and just sleep because we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." They nodded quickly before going inside. "Okay, get some rest." She stepped back into the hallway, leaving the door open three inches, before heading into her own room.

After brushing her teeth in the in suit bathroom, El slipped underneath the covers beside Mike, flicking the lights off with her mind. "What a day, right?" He muttered as she snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, nestling her face into the crook of his neck as he intertwined their legs.

"It's about to get even crazier tomorrow," She muttered before she drifted off to sleep in the comfort of her husband's arms, and the quiet sound of his heart beating against her ear. She felt safe, like nothing could go wrong, but no.

As soon as she fell asleep, the nightmares began.

And that's the end to another chapter!

I really loved this one because I usually write one shots which have a lot of luff... so this one was really fluffy as well. Anyway, I'm hoping to have chapter three out sometime tomorrow!

Oh, and I was thinking about it as I was writing this and since the whole series of Stranger Things is them as teenagers, I was thinking most of the chapter might be focusing more on the adult character's thoughts. But I'm probably just going to stick to Mike and Eleven's thought process because that's what I'm comfortable with and used to.

And don't worry, teenage Mike and El won't be this awkward in upcoming chapter, it was just a big shock to find out they're married in the future, which really shouldn't be but i'd be pretty shook too.

Anyway:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!