(Age 14/15)

3. That's how many times El had woken up screaming and crying that week. Her nightmares had begun to get worse and worse and there seemed to be nothing that Hopper could do to let the young girl have a nightmare-less sleep.

"I need another day off!" Hopper argued with Flo on the phone. "I have something to do."

"Hop, you haven't come in at all this week." Flo replied. "There are 4 cases you need to look at, including another case about owls attacking people again."

"Just get someone else to look at the cases, Flo," Hopper sighed, "I'm busy."

"You need to come in tomorrow afternoon, and that is that." Flo said before hanging up.

"God damnit," Hopper groaned and opened a can of beer.

"A-are you going to work tomorrow?" El asked softly as she walked out from her bedroom, her blanket across her shoulders.

Hopper sighed, "Yeah, I'm sorry kid. Will you be okay?"

El nodded, "I think so." She gave him a smile in an attempt to convince him that she was okay.

"Kid, I'll figure something out. Now try to get some sleep and if something happens, wake me up."

El nodded slowly, "Goodnight." She went into her room and laid down. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and silently prayed for no nightmares.

An hour later...

El jumped up and looked around her bedroom. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing flowed rapidly. El could hear Hopper snoring from the other bedroom and she wasn't wanting to walk through the dark hallway to his room.

El turned her head slightly, noticing a familier object on her dresser. Her supercom. The one Mike had given to her when she had come home before the snowball. She glanced at the clock 1-0-3-9. 10:39pm.

El tilted her head and the supercom moved from its place on her dresser and into her hand. She pressed the button and began to speak.

"M-Mike? Mike are you there?" She asked softly, her voice wavering.

"El, i'm here," Mike replied instantly, "Is everything okay?"

"I had a nightmare," El confessed. "And I'm too scared to wake up Hopper so I called you." Her voice broke as she pulled the blanket up to her chin again.

"Aw El, I wish I was with you right now," He sighed, "I'm sorry you had a nightmare, Love."

"I miss you." El said as she closed her eyes.

"I miss you more than you even know El. I'll try to see you tomorrow or something, okay?"

"Okay. Mike, can you keep talking to me for a while? Just until I feel tired?"

"Of course El." Mike replied, "Let me tell you about school today. So basically..."

They talked for hours until El finally fell asleep with a smile on her face and supercom in hand.

The next morning...

Hopper and El sat together at the table eating eggos. For the first time that week, El had a genuine, happy smile on her face after talking to Mike the night before.

"Kid, did you sleep good last night?" Hopper asked.

El nodded, "No nightmares."

"What were you doing that night?" He asked suspiciously.

El sighed and looked down, knowing she had be caught, "I was talking to Mike."

An idea formed in his head, "So after you talked to the Wheeler boy-"

"Mike." El corrected.

"After you talked to Mike, you slept better?"

El nodded shyly and she felt her cheeks turn hot. Hopper stood up and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Hopper had an idea. He couldn't belive it had really come to this, but if she could get a nightmare-less sleep, he was willing to try almost anything.

"Finish your eggos, I'll be right back." Hopper said before leaving the room. He went into the living room and grabbed the phone, and pulled it into his room.

He hesitated but dialed the Wheeler's number. "Shut the hell up Nancy! Sorry, hello?" Mike asked.

"Hey kid," Hopper said and rolled his eyes.

"Oh uh, h-hi Hopper, sir. Is, uh, everything okay? I, um-"

"I know you and El talked last night." Hopper stated. He could sense how nervous Mike was through the phone.

Mike took a deep breath, "Y-yeah, El called me last night cause' she couldn't sleep. I hope you're not mad."

"Lets not talk about whether I'm mad or not," Hopper sighed, "I have to go work later today, and I... God I believe I'm going to say this... But I need you to come over later to stay with El while I'm at work."

A glass shattered on the floor, "Really?" Mike nearly shouted, trying to contain his excitement. "Are you serious?"

Hopper rubbed his eyes, "I'm serious kid, but if you're coming over, I'm setting a few ground rules. One, no kissing." Mike sighed in annoyance. "Two, you have to stay 3 feet away from her at all times. Three, if anything happens, I will kill you. Understand?"

"Yeah I understand." Mike replied, "We won't do anything and I'll stay away from her." Mike lied slightly, already knowing that those rules would be broken.

"Okay, come over in an hour. And make sure you tell your mother where you're going. I don't need another parent reporting that their kid is missing. We all know how hectic it was last time that happened." Hopper said, referring to Will and Joyce.

"Okay! Bye!" Mike placed phone on the counter and shouted, "I get to see El! I get to see El! Yes!"

"Hey kid, you forgot to hang up the phone." Hopper chuckled.

Mike picked up the phone, "Shit." The line cut.

Later that day...

"Hey kid, Wheeler is coming over soon and he's going to stay with you until I get home." Hopper said and El let out a scream of happiness. "No funny business, understood?"

"Yes yes yes!" El grinned and hugged him, "Thank you."

"This is for one night. One night only."

There was a knock at the door, actually 3 sets of knocks. First, 3 knocks. Then 5. Then 3 again. 353.

El ran to the door and opened it, "Mike!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"Hey El," Mike mumbled, and kissed her cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," El leaned in to kiss his lips but stopped as Hopper came into the room, dressed in his police uniform.

"No funny business and remember my rules, Wheeler." Hopper said before walking out and closing the door behind him.

They waited about 30 seconds before Mike pressed his lips against hers. She smiled and kissed back, his hands on her hips.

The kiss lingered for a moment and Mike mumbled, "I brought all my Star Wars movies..."

"Movie marathon?" El asked with a smile on her face.

"Yep." Mike set up the first movie and they both sat on the couch together, his arm around her shoulders.

Hours later... (sorry for all the time skips)

"El?" Mike ran his fingers through her curls, making a smile form on her lips.

"Mhm?" Her head rested on his lap and a blanket was pulled around her.

"Should we get some sleep?"

El hesitated but nodded, "Only if you stay with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, El." Mike pulled her up and hugged her tightly. He helped her up, and they both walked into her room.

They laid down on the bed, with a few feet of space together. El frowned, "Why are you so far away from me?"

"Hopper's rules, El." Mike sighed and looped an arm around her waist.

"I don't care," El said suddenly, "I want your cuddles." She moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest. His arms immediately wrapped around her.

"If Hopper kills me, it's your fault."

"I won't let him kill you. Promise."

Mike chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair, slowly making her tired. She pulled the blanket up and tighter around them, slowly beginning to fall asleep.

"I love you Mike."

Mike kissed her head, "I love you to El."

She slowly fell asleep in the arms of the person she loved. She had no nightmares that night, only dreams. Dreams of her and Mike in the future, eating eggos for breakfast like always.

Though this was only for one night, they both slept better than they had ever had in a while. The only problem was... what was Hopper going to say when he noticed they had both broken 2 of his rules?

OOF FLUFF