𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

five simple words

this is an au where mike has not yet confessed to el that he loves her :)
just wanted to get something out here for you all!

Mike had loved El for a long time. He'd known it to, it was not a sudden realization- no, he has been in love with her since the very day he met her. He knew they were meant to be, that they were soulmates. He realized this when they had been separated, when his heart ached for her on those lonely nights without her, when his chest went tight whenever the Party mentioned her.

It was like his heart was begging for them to be reunited, as if it wanted to pull the two together.

The day he realized he loved El could've been any day in the week he first met her. But perhaps it was the day she saved Mike from jumping off of the cliff so Dustin wouldn't get hurt. She stood up to his bullies, broke Troy's arm, scared them off and saved his life. No one had ever had the courage to stand up to Troy and his buddies before and maybe that is when his feelings for her began.

She was so brave. She was never scared of anything and if she was, Mike couldn't tell. She had put up with Brenner's mental and physical abuse her entire childhood and yet she still managed to smile. She was so incredible, he thought. How could anyone still manage to smile after all of that?

She was so kind too. How she cared about Mike's friends even if they were unsure of her. She still made their safety a top priority. She protected Mike when he was in trouble.. wasn't he supposed to do that for her, though? That's what he always imagined doing as a child, finding a girl he loved her protecting her against the terrors of the world. But El was different, she was special in so many ways and she always managed to surprise him with every day he got to know her.

Maybe El didn't think so, but Mike thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Some people might say, "But her head is shaved, she looks like a boy" Mike had never thought so. She was always beautiful, even when she was exhausted after fighting; her eyes bloodshot and tired. Never once did he think she was unattractive. When her hair grew out, revealing a soft brunette color he fell even more in love with her.

How could he tell her all of this? He couldn't just say "I'm in love with you" because those words could not tell her everything he felt for her. Those words were intimate and special and so scary at the same time, but they could not even begin to describe the feeling he got in his chest whenever he saw her. Those words could not tell her how a smile always found its way onto his face just by seeing her. Those five words could not tell her anything.

Even as he sat with her now, on the couch in his basement as they watched the first Star Wars movie again, those words would tell her nothing. He couldn't tell her everything he thought inside his head, that would be way too embarrassing. Of course, he knew El would simply smile at him and tell him she understood, but would she really? He would jumble his words together and get all flustered and she would still say she understood, but she wouldn't.

"El..?" He started off.

El shifted and turned to face him, "Yes?"

"Um.." Shit, why did he have no brain-to-mouth connection? He didn't even think and now here he was, at a lost for words!

"Um... you uh- shit.." He mumbled to himself. Why was it whenever he tried to say something nice to her he could never find the words to say it?

"Mike," El said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Just talk, okay?" Right, there was no need to get all nervous around her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I-" Of course, before he could finish his sentence Dustin and the rest of the gang came tumbling down the stairs. Mike sighed and looked to El, she simply smiled at him. Today wasn't the right day anyways...

Authors Note:

lol me with my stupid cliche endings... anyways, sorry this is so short and a very basic oneshot! I really just wanted to get something out. I'm struggling to find time to write and when I do have time I have motivation but no ideas. So if you have any ideas for the next chapter of the simulation please let me know!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)
Stay safe!