Takes place the day after the gate has been closed

El had ended up going back to the cabin that night, despite Mike's pleas to see her again that night. Hopper had insisted that she needed rest and the discussion was finished. El constantly asked for Mike that night, but Hopper refused, saying that she needed sleep.

That had been the first night Mike hadn't called her. He slept easily, knowing she was safe and at home. He knew she was safe, but the thought of not being with her now stabbed at his heart slightly for a reason that he couldn't pinpoint.

And that's how Mike ended up at the cabin door on Sunday morning with a determined look and a box of eggos.

He knocked on the door and shouted, "It's Mike!" before Hopper had a chance to grab his handgun. Hopper reluctantly opened the cabin door and stared at the boy in front of him.

"What do you want, Wheeler?"

"I want to see her." Mike said, managing to push aside the anger he had felt the night before when he had discovered that Hopper had been hiding El.

"No."

"Please? I just want to see her." The anger from the night before threatened to spill out. Mike took a deep breath and continued, "I thought she was dead for 353 days. Come on, please?"

"She's asleep still." Hopper insisted, leaning against the door frame with a cigarette in hand.

"Friends dont lie," El spoke up from behind him, a blanket wrapped around her body.

Her tired and  dull eyes instantly lit up as she saw Mike standing in the doorway. El's heart filled with a strange warmth and all she wanted was a hug from Mike.

Hopper sighed and looked back at the young girl, "Enough with the "friends don't lie" shit, kid. It's really annoying."

El scrunched up her nose as she noticed the cigarette and pulled it out of Hopper's hand with her powers, throwing it over Mike's head onto the gravel path.

"Hey!" Hopper complained, looking back at El.

"It smells bad." El said simply, her eyes flickering back to Mike who couldn't stop smiling at the girl who was only a few feet away.

Hopper rolled his eyes before walking back into the cabin. Mike hesitantly walked inside, quickly gazing around at the cabin before letting his eyes return to the sight before him.

Mike took a good look at her,taking in all the details of her as if this were the last time he would see her. She wore a pair of leggings and a flannel shirt and her hair fell around her face in tight curls that Mike couldn't help but stare at, still remembering the days when El's hair had been extremely short.

But he also noticed how tired she looked and how dull and tired her bloodshot eyes were. He noticed how pale her skin was and how she slightly swayed on her feet as if she would fall to the floor at any moment.

Hopper returned a moment later dressed in his work uniform.  "Out, Wheeler. You've seen her, now leave."

"No." El spoke up, "Let him stay. Mike can take care of me. P-please?"

Hopper stopped and thought about that for a moment before turning to Mike, "You do anything to her and I will shoot your head off."

Mike nodded quickly as Hopper walked out the door and shut it behind him.  Both kids waited until they heard the sound of the truck driving away.

"Mike."

"El."

They instantly surged forward and hugged. El rested her head on his shoulder as Mike rubbed her back gently, trying to fight back tears. They stood there silently for a moment, trying to believe that this moment was real, and not just another figment of their imaginations.

"I-I missed you." Mike managed to say, breaking the silence that had now surrounded them.

"I missed you too Mike." El smiled softly, making his heart flutter.

He took another look at the small wooden cabin, "So what did you even do in here during those.... days?"

"Eggos. TV.  Sleep. See you." El said quietly as she climbed onto the couch, pulling her blanket back around herself.

Mike followed her and sat next to her, leaving a few feet of space between them. El moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder again, just like how she had done in the gym in 1983.

He couldn't help but smile and glance over at her; he raised his hand and gently ran his fingers through her curls before he could stop himself. But El didn't flinch or move away, she continued to lean against him partially and her eyes gently closed.

Finally she was happy and she finally had what she wanted. The missing piece in her heart and life was sitting next to her and she didn't want things any other way.

"I brought you eggos." Mike smiled, gesturing to the yellow box that he had placed on the counter.

"Eggos?" El's eyes lit up happily as she glanced at the box.

"I'll make you- us some." He said, walking to the counter and proceding to make place the waffles in the toaster.

El glanced at the screen, then at Mike and back again; she was still trying to figure out if this moment was a dream. She had dreamt about this moment constantly during the 353 days, but she feared that she would soon wake up alone and in the middle of the night without Mike at her side.

Her lower lip began to quiver as the memories and thoughts about the past year filled her mind. She remembered his nightly calls and how broken and upset he would sound and looks in the void.

'Hey El, it's day 55. I hope you're okay. School was horrible today. I wish you were here. Dustin, Lucas and I really miss you. Will really wishes he could have met you.'

'It's day 141. Troy is starting to leave me alone... a bit. We all miss you a lot. Please come home. Or maybe give me- us a sign.'

'El it's day 275, I'm still here. I'm still calling you. I miss you a lot. I-If you can hear me just give me a sign. I need to know if you're out there...'

'Hey El, it's day 324. I still have the blanket fort set up, I haven't taken it down. Things haven't been the same wihout you... I thought I heard you one night, but it was probably in my head. Please come home El. I really miss you.'

The next thing El knew, she had tears running down her cheeks and Mike's arms around her body, hugging her tightly. He didn't know the exact reason for her tears but he knew that she shouldn't be crying. He held her quietly for a moment as her tears slowly decreased.

"I-Im sorry." El managed to say, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Mike asked, a soft smile on his face.

El couldn't help but smile slightly as a memory filled her mind...

'Go.' El said coldly as Troy and James ran down the gravel path, Troy clutching his broken arm while they ran.

'That's right! You better run!' Dustin shouted, 'She's our friend and she's crazy! You come back here and she'll kill you! You here me? She'll kill you, you sons of bitches!'

El's vision began to go hazy from over using her powers. She swayed on her feet for a moment before falling to the ground, a flashback of the void and the lab filling her mind.

'El? El are you okay?' Mike knelt next to her on the ground, shaking her shoulders lightly while she stared up at him, blinking back tears.

'Mike... I'm sorry.' El said through her tears.

'Sorry? What are you sorry for?'

'The gate... I opened it. I'm the monster...' El said softly.

'No. No El, you're not the monster. You saved me.' Mike smiled, 'Do you understand? You saved me.'

Mike pulled her into a hug, Dustin soon joining them.

"It's okay to... cry El. But everything is okay." He brushed one of her curls back before he could stop himself. "Do you want to tell me?"

El nodded slightly, "I thought about the days. 353. I kept hearing you call, but I never... called back. I'm sorry." She wiped the tears off of her cheeks and looked up at Mike.

He gently brushed his thumb across her cheekbone, wiping away any other tears. "You don't have to say sorry to me."

Mike couldn't help but lean in closer to her, his hand resting on her cheek. She leaned in too, slowly letting her eyes flutter close as the distance between them almost closed.

El remember the night in the school, when Mike had kissed her. (She didn't know what "kissing" was until she watched a Soap Opera) A part of her wanted to feel the same emotions that she had felt at the school: the warm spark-like feeling that had shot through her heart like a lightning bolt.

Mike's mind wasn't working. He continued to listen to his heart, and what had felt right to him was kissing her. To this day, he wasn't sure what had come over him in the school or what had urged him to kiss her; he had no regrets, considering that the classroom had been the last place they had seen each other.

Mike gently brought her closer until their foreheads were touching. His lips gently brushed over hers just as they heard a

Ding

Mike and El pulled apart, glancing into the kitchen where the toaster with the eggos had just chimed. Neither of them would ever admit how badly they wanted that kiss and how badly they wished to stay in that moment.

"I'll uh, go grab the eggos." Mike said after a moment, climbing off the couch.

El frowned lightly front the loss in contact and her rapidly beating heart slowed back to normal. She couldn't identify the feelings that she had; she hasn't experienced these feelings with anyone else except for Mike.

He returned a few minutes later with a plate of eggos and a sweet smile. He too was confused by why he was wanting that kiss so badly, but he simply pushed those feelings aside. Mike sat down next to her and took an eggo off of the plate and offered them to her.

"Thank you." El said softly and took a waffle from the plate before he set it on the coffee table. She gave Mike a warm smile making his heart skip a beat.

El moved closer to him, leaning against him partially. Her body and mind was still tired from the night before and she wanted to do was relax and rest. She shifted slightly, laying down across the couch and resting her head on his lap.

"Is this okay?" El asked softly, tensing up nervously as she waited for his reply.

"Yeah. Of course." Mike smiled as she fully relaxed on the couch. He pulled the blanket across El as she looked at the screen.

She let her eyes close gently, her mind at ease knowing that she was safe with Mike. El slowly began to fall asleep, a smile of pure happiness on her lips. Her mind kept coming back to their "almost kiss"; deep down in her heart, she wished that the moment had continued and that the sparks she missed filled her heart again.

Mike glanced down at El, then at the screen and back again, still overjoyed that she was home. His heart fluttered as she glanced up at him with a smile. Mike still couldn't figure out why El made him so happy, but he figured that he would find out eventually.

"I'm glad you're home El." Mike said suddenly, making her grin.

"Me too." She replied softly, her dark eyes glittered amusingly.

The 2 of them continued to watch TV for the rest of the afternoon and talk about what they had missed during the 353 days.

The one regret Mike and El both secretly had was not having that kiss that day. But neither of them could really complain when they had gotten to spend a whole day together and it was the first day- the 354th day -that Mike and El were happy and together in a very long time.

I've never seen a oneshot like this I decided to write one.

The little time jump in the end of season 2 was annoying but understandable.