Chapter 47: 47. Ice
A/N: This is a prompt request from a guest reviewer by the name of Mileven fan. Out of the seven prompts they listed, I managed to squeeze all of them but one in here. The ones included here are: Mike and El have their first snow day, Mike gets injured and goes to the hospital, Eleven gets sick, a sleepover in the blanket fort, Mike surprises El and a bunch of Mileven fluff. I hope I did all those justice!
Additionally, in honor of ST's fourth anniversary, this is written in a canon-divergent post-S1. Before the second season came out, it was in my personal canon that El was rescued from the Upside-Down after ten months of surviving there by Hopper and the Party and lived with Hopper in his trailer. It was a bit strange writing a softer, younger, yet still fiercely loyal Mileven, but I hope you enjoy the throwback!
If there's one thing El wants to do for the rest of her life, it's wake up to Michael Wheeler's voice.
At first, she thinks she's dreaming. As his muffled voice floats through the colorless haze she was drifting in, she latches onto it, trying to burrow back down into the world of dreams so she can hold onto it a little longer, but the more she focuses on it, the more awake she becomes. Blearily, she opens her eyes, blinking several times at the sunlight that floods her vision.
It takes a few beats for her to realize that she can still hear Mike's voice and when she hears Hopper's gruff voice say something in response, she freezes with a grin.
Mike is here.
She throws off the covers of her bed and races to the door. Mike is seated on the couch when she opens it, bundled in a thick coat and a fluffy hat that makes his bangs fall into his eyes.
His face lights up when he spots her and she rushes to hug him as he stands up, nestling into his arms.
"What are you doing here?" she murmurs and he pulls back with the most adorable grin.
"Surprise!"
"S-Surprise?"
"Yeah, it's when you do something fun for someone else that they're not expecting."
"And you're my surprise?"
He nods eagerly.
"Thank you for surprising me, Mike," she replies with a shy smile, causing his cheeks to blush pink.
"There's more, kid," Hopper's voice comes from behind them. "Go get dressed—and dress warmly."
Her brow furrows and she looks back to the boy standing beside her.
"Why?" she asks.
"'Cause we have an awesome day ahead of us. Trust me," he replies and she smiles at the thought of spending the whole day with him.
"Okay," she murmurs with a nod and heads back to her room, digging through her closet to find the thickest clothes she owns. She ends up pulling out a sweater of hers and a pair of sweatpants she's never worn.
It hadn't gotten unreasonably cold outside yet and Hopper had kept her safe and warm in the trailer since the temperatures began dropping, so the heaviest clothes she has don't look anything like what Mike had shown up in.
Thankfully, when she re-emerges, Mike is holding a coat similar to his and a pair of boots that she doesn't recognize.
"These are for you," he tells her, handing both to her and she takes them, slipping the coat on easily. She's wiggling her feet into the boots, clutching Mike's hand for support when Hopper speaks from where he's rummaging in the corner chest.
"Damn it, I can't find Sarah's old gloves," he says, throwing up his hands.
"That's okay, she can borrow mine," Mike rushes to offer and Hopper looks like he's about to object, but he sighs and runs a hand through his hair instead.
"If that's okay with you, El can take yours and I'll give you a pair of mine. They'll be pretty big, but they should still protect you," he responds as he heads into his room and her heart twists at his words.
"Protect?" she asks quietly, her brow furrowing. "Are you going to get hurt?"
"No, no, no, we're going to be fine, it's just in case."
"In case of what?"
"Just—we'll be safe El, I promise. I'll keep you safe."
"I'll keep you safe, too."
He blushes at that and nudges her playfully with his shoulder, causing all sorts of flutters in her stomach.
"Alright kid, these are yours," Hopper says, coming back to hand Mike his gloves and she grins at how giant they were going to be on his hands. She tugs on Mike's gloves and after Hopper plops a fluffy hat on her head, he declares that they're ready.
"For what?"
"C'mon," Mike replies instead, and she feels his hand slip into hers. She follows him to the door, getting used to wearing so many layers. When he stops, there's excitement swirling in his eyes.
"El Hopper," he declares and she giggles. "I present to you—snow!"
He opens the door and her jaw drops.
The world has gone white. Everywhere she looks, from the ground to the sky to the trees, is white. Specks of fluff are floating down from the clouds, landing quietly on the blanketed ground. Everything is quiet and she's never seen the world so still.
Curious, she reaches out a hand and watches as one of the fluffs lands on her palm. It sticks, before dissolving into water and she gasps.
"Mike," she whispers, his name turning into a puff of mist. "It's beautiful."
"Isn't it?" he replies, squeezing her hand and she nods, reaching out to catch another one.
"Here, watch this," he says and sticks out his tongue, catching a fluff and pulling it back into his mouth with a grin. Her eyes widen in surprise and she mimics him, sticking out her tongue as well and it isn't long until something wet lands on it.
"It's cold!" she observes as it melts in her mouth and he nods. There's a comfortable silence as they listen to the snow sprinkling onto the ground.
"So do we just look at it?" she says eventually and he shakes his head.
"Nope, this is just the beginning. Follow me," he replies and tugs her down the front steps, rounding the side of the trailer to where the ground underneath is grass rather than the gravelly dirt of the front yard. The snow is crunching underneath her boots as they trek through it, the flakes falling from the sky are brushing her cheeks and Mike's holding tight to her hand. If it wasn't so cold, she'd want it to be like this all the time.
The morning is wonderful. She never knew one could do so many things with a substance that falls from the sky. Mike shows her everything he can think of—from snow angels,
("Mike, what's an angel?"
"You."
She feels her face light up in surprise and he scrambles to recover.
"Um, I mean, a person from heaven who can do magic and heal people and stuff.")
to snowballs,
("What's this called?"
She can tell the pink in his cheeks isn't just from the cold.
"That's a snowball."
"But the Snow Ball's in two months."
The smile that crosses his face is soft and full of hope.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"I'm excited for it."
"I'm-I'm excited to take you.")
to snowmen.
(She giggles and Mike looks back at her from where he's sticking a carrot into the round snowy face of the figure.
"He looks funny."
Mike laughs too.
"We should name him Hopper," he suggests.
She laughs even harder at that.)
He's explaining ice skating to her and how fun it is to glide across the ice when the snow begins to pick up, the wind blowing with more insistence and she shivers as the air grows even colder than it was.
"Do you want to head inside?" he asks and she shrugs, not wanting their day outside to be over so soon.
"Few more minutes?" she suggests and he nods, before gesturing to the lake in front of them.
"Do you want to try something like ice skating then? It won't be skating exactly, but the ice is probably thick enough for us to stand on it."
"Okay," she agrees and grips tightly to his hand as she follows him down to the edge of the frozen lake.
"Here, I'll go first to make sure it's safe," he tells her and she shakes her head.
"No, I can—"
"No, it's fine, really! I'll just—" He inches out onto the ice, sliding his feet along the surface and she frowns when his hand slips out of hers. He goes slow, balancing himself by holding his arms out. He's more than a few feet away from her when the wind begins to blow harder.
"Mike, I don't think you should keep going," she insists, but he shakes his head.
"It's okay, just a little farther," he calls back, his movements becoming more confident. The ice continues to support him and her fear begins to ebb as she tentatively places a foot on the frozen surface. It holds her weight and she moves to stand on it fully.
She's concentrating on her feet when it happens. The wind howls as it picks up out of nowhere, pushing forcefully against her and she gasps at the strength of it.
"Mike!" she calls and when she looks up, he's falling, crying out her name.
Time crawls to an agonizing halt as she watches his feet slip out from underneath him, the wind knocking him off balance and her heart jumps to her throat. The crack when he hits the ice is sickening and she screams as he falls through, his body crashing into the water.
Her feet begin to move before she has a chance to think about it, but the ice groans as she takes a step and she hurries back to solid ground, a sob bubbling up in her throat.
"Mike!" she screams again as he begins to flail, his gasping, broken breaths tearing through her soul.
"El! E-El, I c-can't—" he yells, and, with a whimper, she again moves to run to him, but his arm catches the ice in front of him, sending a crack that carves its way toward her feet and she yelps as she steps back up onto the solid ground.
The more he struggles, the more helpless she feels, inadequacy pressing hard on her chest and it feels like all she can do is cry out to him as the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Her precious, perfect boy, he's drowning, the bitter cold sending spikes through his skin and God, please, if You're out there, please, please, please save him—
"E-El!" he screams again, his voice shattering and cracking. "Your p-powers—El, p-please—"
It's the last thing she hears from him before he goes under, his scream bubbling as his face disappears beneath the surface, his outstretched arms beginning to go limp. It's the most horrific thing she's ever seen and the ringing in her ears is sudden and sharp as her powers roar ferociously through her veins.
For a moment, her fear is so erratic that she can't latch onto anything, her mind zipping this way and that, searching desperately for the boy she loves beneath the surface.
She gasps as she feels her power brush against his legs and with a breath in, breath out, she wraps her mind around his waist and pulls.
Much to her relief, his body soars through the surface, dripping and shivering as she tugs him towards her. With a jerk that's a bit stronger than she intended, he shakily flies through the air and she grits her teeth as she fights for control, breathing steadily as she brings him closer.
She can see his teeth chattering when he's close enough and her heart sinks when she sees his hands are bare and tinged a grey-ish color.
"Mike!" she cries as she sets him down gently on the snow-covered ground, rushing to hold him when he's stable. She gathers him up in her arms and squeezes him tight, cradling his head against her shoulder. He's shaking and freezing, but he's alive.
"Are you okay?" she whimpers. "I'm so sorry, I should've-"
"El." His voice is a whisper and his body is growing heavier in her arms.
"Mike?"
"El…"
His eyes droop shut, his body goes limp and Michael Wheeler is unconscious.
The entire world must've heard her scream for Hopper.
The climb back to consciousness is a confusing one for Mike. He sees the lights first as his eyes blearily blink open. They're so bright and piercing that he shuts them again with a groan.
"Hey kid."
The voice is deep and gruff and he frowns.
"Chief?" he mutters, keeping his eyes shut.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me. Do you want me to see if I can turn the lights down for you?"
"Um...y-yeah, if you wouldn't mind." There's a beat as he hears shuffling, then the flicking of a switch and he senses the room grow darker. "Am I in a hospital?" he whispers, slowly opening his eyes again and he can see the outline of a big, burly man standing by his bedside.
"Yeah, you got pretty banged up from the fall. You remember what happened?"
The fall. He remembers falling. And there was a...a crash and some ice and cold, cold, cold, but then-
He gasps, something like fear dumping into his heart.
"Where's El? Is she okay? Did she get hurt?"
His voice must've been getting louder, because Hopper puts a finger to his lips, shushing him, and gestures to the corner of the room.
His gaze follows his pointed finger and the knots in his chest unravel when he sees his girl slumped and asleep in the corner chair.
"Is she okay?" he asks again, lowering his voice, and Hopper nods.
"She's just still tired after lifting you. She's refused to eat anything because she's been so worried about you, so she still hasn't gotten her strength back," he explains and the guilt that suddenly gnaws at his stomach is almost unbearable.
"I shouldn't have asked her to do that," he mumbles and the chief shakes his head.
"No, what you shouldn't have done was walk out onto the lake. That was so stupid, kid, what were you thinking?"
He shrugs. "I wanted El to be able to walk on it and I was making sure it was safe."
Hopper pinches the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his face.
"Did El say she wanted to walk on the ice?"
He swallows hard. "Well, no, not explicitly, but…"
"Mike?"
His inhale is sharp and he turns his head to see her awake and timidly walking over to him like she'd scare him if she got too close.
"I'm-I'm really sorry," she starts and he almost does a double-take.
"You're sorry?" he replies, incredulous. "El, what are you sorry for? I'm the idiot who thought it'd be a good idea to keep going."
He goes to reach for her hand, but halts the movement when his fingers twitch...and nothing happens.
"Why can't I feel my hands?"
"Like I said, you got pretty banged up," Hopper mutters and he gasps as he looks down to see both his hands wrapped in bandages, an IV attached to his left arm.
"You-you got frostbite," he hears El say, her voice shaky and small. Her eyes are welling up when he glances at her, hurting him more than her words do. "And a con-concu-" She furrows her brow and looks over at Hopper for help, her fingers beginning to fidget with one another.
"A concussion, kid, from where you broke through the ice with your head." He sees El nod sadly out of the corner of his eye and he goes to reassure her that he's alright, but Hopper isn't done. "And please tell me you didn't take off your gloves on purpose."
He shakes his head which, now that he thinks about it, is throbbing and the movement causes him to grit his teeth.
"They came off when I fell through because your hands are so big," he explains and Hopper huffs out a breath, conceding.
"Fair enough."
There's a pause where no one quite knows what to say as Mike lets it sink in how serious his injuries could have been had El not saved him because of his impulsive actions (again).
The girl is still hovering shyly by his bedside and he spares a glance up at her. She looks almost fearful when her eyes meet his.
"What's wrong?" he murmurs, lowering his voice and scooting a bit closer to her.
"I'm sorry, Mike," she responds in a whisper, the corner of her lips tugging down into a frown.
"El, I still don't know what you're apologizing for. You haven't done anything wrong."
She shakes her head. "I should've pulled you out sooner."
For a moment, he's dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open limply.
"What-El, no, you shouldn't be apologizing for that, for any of this," he says, gesturing the best he can to his injuries. "All of this is my fault. All of it. And I-"
He purses his lips together, glancing sheepishly at the chief and he somehow gets the hint.
"Alright, I'll let you kids have your time. Behave, understand?"
They both nod and he mutters something about how soft he's becoming as he exits the room, shutting the door behind him.
"El," he starts again, his stomach twisting and he doesn't quite meet her eyes. "I shouldn't have made you use your powers. I'm the one who should be sorry, so—I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make me any better than the bad men and no one, not even me, should be making you use your powers."
He lets out a shaky breath, guilt churning his stomach and she's quiet for a while. Just when he thinks she's never going to forgive him, he sees her moving and he looks up at her as she slowly kneels by his bedside.
"Mike," she whispers, her bottom lip quivering.
"You could've died." The end of her sentence is chopped up by a sob and he curses his hands for not being able to reach out and comfort her.
"Would've been better than forcing you to use your powers."
The outrage on her face is so strong that, for a moment, he thinks she's going to slap him.
"Mike!"
He hangs his head. "Sorry, I know that's extreme. But I mean it, your abilities aren't a thing to be—"
She shows no indication that she's listening as she rises to sit on his bed by where his arm lays uselessly. Pressing a finger to his lips, she cuts off his words, and his breath hitches as her fingertips skim across his face, brushing his cheekbones, his temples, his jawline, his lips again. She's looking at him so intensely, so reverently that his heart stutters.
"I don't want you to die," she whispers. "Don't be sorry for anything you did, I wish I would've saved you earlier. I was just so scared and—and surprised, but in a bad way."
"Shocked?"
She nods, her fingers dropping from his face, coming to rest on his arm instead.
"Shocked," she repeats. "It almost felt like I couldn't move, I was so afraid you'd—"
She doesn't finish her sentence and she doesn't have to.
"I understand, El," he murmurs.
"What if we both stop being sorry?" she says after a moment.
"What?"
"If you shouldn't be sorry and I shouldn't be sorry…"
He smiles softly. "Then we'll just stop being sorry. I like it."
She nods shyly before she leans in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"I'm happy you're okay, Mike," she whispers as she pulls back and he can feel the blood rush to his cheeks.
"I'm happy you're okay too, El."
Mike's recovery is a slow one. Once he's released from the hospital the next day, it's doctor's orders that he take it easy for the next couple of weeks.
El comes down with a cold the next day as well, the exposure to temperatures lower than she'd ever experienced causing her body to react negatively.
Needless to say, it's a few days before they can see each other again and, even then, they spend their time with Mike's head in El's lap, her fingers gently playing with his hair as they watch the sitcoms that she adores in his basement. A perfect way to spend the afternoon, in their opinions. They don't speak of the fiasco from a couple of days prior until they're crawling into the blanket fort together to take a nap when Mike gets a headache from staring at the tv screen for too long.
"Mike?"
"Mmhm?"
"I don't think I like the cold."
He smiles as he lays down, sleepily reaching over to squeeze her hand.
"Then I promise to always keep you warm."
Quick note: June's one shot was posted separately from this book since the themes were on the more mature side. You're welcome to check it out if you haven't already!
I hope you all are safe and well :)
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