(Age 14/15)

"Mike can I ask you something?"

"You don't need to ask if you can ask a question El."

El giggled at her boyfriend's reply and moved closer to him as they walked through the (surprisingly silent) streets of Hawkins together. The slight breeze blew El's curls back slightly

"Max always talks about this place called the Arcade," El said as they walked back to the Wheeler's house. El had managed to put aside her jealousy over Max during the year. "She always says it's the best place ever. You can play games and win prizes and it's a lot of fun," She continued, "Lucas took Max there on a date once." El managed to hide the smile that had formed on her lips.

But Mike knew El far too well. "Oh I get it." He gave her a knowing smile back and intertwined their fingers, "You want me to take you to the Arcade on a date?"

"N-not a date really..." El mumbled, trying her hardest to stop her cheeks from turning red. "I just want to go there with you; you've never taken me there before."

"I guess you're right, I'll take you El, tomorrow night." Mike opened the front door of his house for El, letting her step inside. "Even if you wanted it to be a date, I wouldn't mind. You are my girlfriend after all."

He quickly pecked her lips before walking into the basement, leaving El as a blushing and smiling mess in the foyer of the house.

Next Day
4:56pm

"Nancy," El whined as she knocked on the bedroom door repeatedly. "I need help."

A moment later Nancy opened her bedroom door, the phone in hand. "Yes El?"

El took a deep breath and said, "Mike is taking me to the arcade and I think it's a date but I don't know and you're really good at advice and I just want to know what you think I should wear cause' I really don't know what to do."

Nancy looked at her for a minute before raising the phone to her ear, "Jonathan I'll call you later." She set the phone down and gestured for El the to come inside. "You've been on a lot of dates; you should be good at this," Nancy teased.

El pouted slightly, "I just like your sense of style; can you help me please, then you can call Jonathan back."

Nancy's cheeks turned a light shade of red before she nodded. "Let's get you ready then."

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"Hey El are you ready- damn."

El slowly made her way down the stairs, a small smile on her face. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a blouse; her outfit was simple but it still took Mike's breath away.

"Hey El, where do you think you're going dressed like that?" Mike teased as she walked over to him.

El gave him a puzzled look before understanding his little game and saying, "I'm going out with my boyfriend, he's so amazing and I love him a lot. We are going to the arcade for a date, i think. He is sweet and caring and gives me eggos; he loves me a lot."

"He sounds pretty amazing." Mike smirked wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Believe me," El lowered her voice to just above a whisper, "he is."

Mike leaned in to kiss her just as Holly ran down the stairs. He shook his head as he and El pulled apart, silently wishing that moment hadn't been interrupted.

"Where are you going Mikey?" Holly asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Me and El are going out... We'll be back later." Mike couldn't help but smile slightly at his little sister. "We're going to the Arcade."

Holly's eyes lit up, "Can you get me a ring?" She asked excitedly.

Mike shook his head but smiled, "You have like 50 of those rings. But I'll get you one." He took El's hand and walked towards the door.

"Thanks!" Holly shouted before running back upstairs, a grin plastered across her face.

El giggled as she watched Holly run off, "She's cute." She leaned in and pressed her lips against his cheek as he opened the door.

"Yeah she is, but you're pretty cute too." He pecked her lips before walking outside with her and onto the road.

The sun shined through the leaves and branches of the trees and a light, pleasant breeze blew around them. Mike couldn't help but glance at El ever so often, taking a closer look at her little details.

He noticed the way her dark curls shined in the sunlight, making her hair seem to look multiple shades of brown and hazel. Her dark eyes, the colour of chocolate, glittered with excitement and happiness that radiated the same amount of warmth as the sun.

A smile graced across her lips as they walked; it never faded once. El was only ever this happy when she was with Mike; he was her whole world and her life would have been so different if it weren't for Mike finding her in the forest in 1983.

"Mike. Mike!" El said, waving a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his daydream.

"What- yeah?" Mike shook his head, realizing he had been staring at her. He took a look at their surroundings, noticing that they had already reached the Arcade.

"Nothing, you just spaced out." El tilted her head slightly, an amused smile on her face.

"Oh sorry about that. I was just-"

"Staring at me?" El couldn't stop the smirk that tugged at the corner of her lips.

Mike sighed as his cheeks went red, "Possibly," In attempt to get the upper hand he said, "It's kinda hard not to stare at my girlfriend who looks absolutely amazing, like always." He shrugged and opened the door for her, smiling as he saw the blush creep onto her cheeks.

El shook her head and walked inside, kissing her boyfriend's cheek as she stepped off of the concrete. Her eyes lit up as she gazed around at the machines and games that surrounded the room.

Mike wrapped an arm around her waist, "What do you want to do first?"

"First," El turned slightly and pressed a quick kiss against his lips before moving out of his arms. "Second, games!" She ran to one of the machines and slipped in a quarter.

Mike shook his head and walked to her side. The Arcade was surprisingly not as busy as usual. Only a few other people were wandering around.

Max had given her some tips and tricks on how to win, but El had her own special strategy on how to win.

El hit the button and moved the joystick on the Pac Man game machine as Mike watched, his eyes slowly widening as he watched her score grow higher and higher.

El noticed the look on his face and quickly brought her hand up to wipe the blood from under her nose. Her powers and Max's tips and tricks combined, she was easily able to get onto the leaderboard.

"What the fuck?" Mike asked, his eyes wide as the game screen flipped to the leaderboard.

"Language Mikey." El giggled. "Can you help me with this?" She gestured to the screen which was asking for a name on the leaderboard.

"Yeah sure," He walked behind her and placed his hand over hers on the joystick and slowly entered "Jane" into the game system. "I still don't understand how you got that high of a score."

El shrugged, hiding the smirk on her lips, "I have my ways." She smiled playfully before skipping off to another game.

Mike shook his head and followed her, a grin on his face. They continued to play the arcade games for a while; El and Mike working together to receive high scores on lot of games.

El finally got stuck on the hardest game of them all: The Claw Machine game.

"Mike!" El whined from across the room, "Help me!" A pout formed on her lips as Mike walked over and pressed a kiss against her stuck out lip gently; her pout quickly turning into a smile.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, tucking one of El's curls behind her ear.

"I can't figure out how to win this stupid game!" El frowned, looking at the machine angrily.

"'Language Ellie'." Mike smirked, imitating El from earlier. "Want me to help you?"

"'Stupid' isn't a bad word Mike," She sighed, "And yes please."

Mike slipped in a quarter and moved the joystick carefully, "Did you trying using your," he lowered his voice, "powers?"

"Of course I did!" El rolled her eyes playfully. "But the claw keeps getting in the way!"

Mike chuckled and asked, "Which one do you want?" He glanced at El as she looked at the stuffed animals through the glass.

"Since there isn't an eggo one," El pointed at a stuffed animal, "I want the dolphin."

"As you wish, Princess." Mike smirked at her and carefully grabbed the stuffed animal with the claw and let it drop into the trap door.

El's eyes lit up happily as Mike presented the stuffed animal to her like a crown; he bowed slightly and held the dolphin in both hands.

"You are such a nerd Michael." El giggled and took the dolphin from Mike and hugged it to her chest.  "Thank you."

"You're welcome,  but why is that dolphin getting so many hugs?" Mike asked, a grin on his face, "Shouldn't I get some hugs too?"

"Fine I'll give you a hug, I guess." El teased and hugged him tightly, the stuffed animal in one hand.

Mike smiled and hugged back, "Love you El."

She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, "Love you too Mike&Ike."

"Is that nickname ever going to change?" Mike sighed as he pulled out of the hug.

"Nope! Never!" El intertwined their fingers and gently pulled him to the door. "Let's go home."

"Wait," Mike grabbed a quarter and slipped it into a machine snd turned a handle until a small container with a plastic ring fell out. "For Holly."

Mike returned to her side and intertwined their fingers again and walked outside, "So what are you going to name it?" He looked over at the stuffed animal that she held tightly with her other hand.

El thought for moment, "Mike."

"I'm Mike though, El. Think of another name."

"Mike 2?"

"No."

"Michael 2.0?"

"I really don't want the 2.0 version of me to be a stuffed dolphin from a Claw game. Name it Mike&Ike."

"That name is taken, remember?"

"By who?"

"You, remember? You're my Mike&Ike."

"That nickname is never going to change, is it?"

"Nope!"

Well, that was cute. If you haven't noticed, some aspects from multiple oneshots are constantly shared, like El calling Mike 'Mike&Ike' or him calling her 'Princess'.

It's just too cute to leave out of the oneshots.