Archive of Our Own ^beta

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She grunted as she fell to the ground. The sharp point of the hand knife at her throat, her chest rising and falling. The red head smirked “Giving up already?” El smiled “In your dreams Maxine.” And in a swift moved kicked the sharp hand knife away from Max then she was jumping up to her feet, shoving her down, and before Max was aware El had her in a choke hold. Max tapped the ground aggressively and El giggled letting her go.

“Jesus El trying to kill my girlfriend?” Lucas says as he hands Max her water bottle. “Oh Lukey you know I love her!” El smirked as Lucas flips her off.

Ever since she had seen the way Lucas reacted to Being called lukey by his sister she used it to tease him. She high fives Dustin as he grins at her while Will is quick to hug her. “Another win for my sister!!” Max scoffs, “I’ll get her next time.” El laughs. “Want to go to the food court?” Lucas, who had his arm around Max, pouts. “Wait you said you were going to stay to watch me beat Dustin!” Max sighs “I’m sorry Ellie-“ El is quick to reassure her, “Max! I understand! Will want to go?” Will nods and stands up. “Good luck Lucas! Good luck dusty!” El says as Will waves. Then they’re off to the food court where the big sign that says ‘Welcome to NUSA.’ Sits bright and inviting.

El and Will first joined the National Undercover Spy Academy when they were twelve. Their dad and mom were top spies at the time and agreed that El and Will were ready. Now Six years later, Jim Hopper and Joyce Hopper ran the academy while El and Will were closer to being top spies.

“So did you hear about the new the kid?” El says as she gets in the line for her food. “Nope. Are you showing them around?” El nods as she slides her card in and grabs her lunch bag. “Yeah. It’s guy who has no experience, so he’ll need a good trainer.” Will who was bending down to pick up his lunch from the food compartment, smiled. He didn’t get the chance to speak before the loud speaker rang through.

“Elenor Hopper, William Hopper, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson please come to Commanders Office.”

El jumped up and down excitedly “See! You’ll be training for the first time!” Will was quick to shut her down, “We don’t know that. They called Dustin and Lucas too. Maybe he’s just bunking with all of us.” El sighed as they walked to the commanders office. “Will you really should try to at least sign up.” She looked over at her younger brother who nodded while looking down at his lunch bag.

They entered the office eating and laughing but quickly got shut up and lead to their fathers office.

——————

“So Mike Wheeler, where you from?” Hopper asks “I was born in Indiana, then when I was eighteen I moved to California.” He replied. The door slammed open as two guys fell through it, one tripping but before he hit the ground the dark skinned man caught him.

“Seriously Dustin.” The man said in a deep voice. “You shoved me!” The boy named Dustin defended.

Suddenly another voice joined the conversation,“Boys. Calm down.” It was a girls voice however it was extremely commanding and made both the boys stand up straight.

Mikes breath suddenly caught in his throat as he looked at the brunette. Holy shit she was beautiful. The black body suit hugged her waist and curves perfectly. Not only did she happen to have a pretty body but she had a pretty face. Plum lips, light brown eyes, long eyelashes, defined cheekbones, hair that looked oh so soft.

“Welcome Everyone.” Hopper started, “Chief.” They greeted. They all went to stand beside him and Mike had to admit they looked pretty badass. “El this is Mike. Mike this is your tour guide, El. She is one of highest spies in the academy. She is also my daughter.” He saw as her face changed for a split second as she looked at him for the first time. Her pretty pink tinted lips parted and eyes widened. However soon her face Changed once again and she put on a smile, god her smile was beautiful.

“Nice to meet you Mike.” She extended a hand. He quickly confirmed that her hands were as soft as they seemed to be.

“Uh- hi- uh- Its great to meet you..” He smiles awkwardly. “This is Will. Will is my son and Also considered top at the academy which is why he will be your trainer.” A squeal broke out and his attention immediately came back to El who was jumping up and down. Will seemed excited too, he smiled brightly and the two boys patted him on the back and cheered.

Will stepped in front to shake Mikes hand. Hopper continues, “You will be sharing a house with Will. Along with Lucas,” the Dark skinned man nodded his head. “And Dustin.” The curly haired boy ran to hug him. “What’s up dude!” Mike smiled.

It’s weird because he was so nervous when he arrived. However now he was mostly excited to be living with these people. It felt like.. home. “Welcome to your new home! Let’s get started.”

Chapter Text

El was in a dilemma. As soon as she laid eyes on the new boy her heart started pounding hard in her chest, she had never felt that feeling and it worried her. El was never the dating type. Never had a boyfriend, hadn’t even had her first kiss. She was always focused on her job and boys never caught her attention. But Mike? He for sure caught her attention.

They all walked out of the room except for Mike who was talking to her dad. El stood outside of the door and soon he walked out, a little startled to see El. She smiled, “Welcome home! Let’s get started.”

She cleared her throat as they walked quietly, “So you’ve seen the commanders office, a lot of people aren’t allowed in unless they are talking to the chief,” She smiles at Steve who opens the door for her and Mike, “Thanks!” The older man smiles at her. “You’re welcome Ellie.” Mike smiles as they walk away and into the food court.

-

“Ellie?” He teases with a smile. El blushes, her hair falling on her face as she looks down. “It’s a nickname..” Mike is quick to reassure her, “It’s.. pretty.” El looks back at him, cheeks pink, and lips parted looking so kissable. “Thank you..” she seems to snap out of it and shakes her head. “Okay um this is the food court...” the tour goes on as El shows him the training room, weapon room, and so on.

The whole time her heart was racing and their eyes kept meeting over and over again. She hated it. Hated the way he made her blush, giggle and even snort when he made a joke about their suits ripping when they crouched. By the time they got to the dorms they were a laughing mess.

“This is your stop,” El said as her giggles died down (her smile didn’t) “Thanks.. uhm when does training begin?” Mike asked reaching for the door knob, “Tomorrow at nine am. Be prepared!”

“Thanks Ellie.” He smiles teasingly, El blushes again and waves.

“Bye Mike..” With one last smile he shut the door and El would be lying if she said she didn’t run towards her dorm.

-

She smiles when she see her dorm and opens the door hurriedly. “MAX I THINK-“ She’s not able to finish because she’s gaping at the scene in front of her. Max has climbed her way onto Lucas’s lap while they kiss heatedly. The couples heads snap to El and they are quick to shove each other away. “I- uh- see you guys at the sleepover.. bye el..” Lucas says as he grabs his jacket and waves awkwardly at Max.

Max, who’s face is redder than her hair, waves back and soon it’s just El and Max.

“I am so so soo sorry!” El says as she rushes to her friend. “It’s okay,” Max sighs “What did you want to talk about?” It’s El’s turn to blush and Max squeals. “OMG it’s the new guy isn’t it? Is he hot?” El nods “Ugh Max he’s so cute! And he called me Ellie-“ The red head smiles at her friend but soon she has tears in her eyes.

“Max? Max what’s wrong?!” El says as she rushes to hug her friend. “You’re falling in love!!” Max cries as El’s whole body goes still. “Woah no! I’ve never- I don’t even know the guy- why are you crying?” Max shakes her head and stands “I’m sorry I’ve been so emotional lately but El you’ll fall in love soon!” Max smiles as the tears keep falling and El can’t help but tilt her head at Max.

“I’m going to shower, we have a sleepover with our boyfriends!” Max quickly wipes her tears and giggles as if she wasn’t sobbing a minute before. El shakes her head, “he’s not my boyfriend.” and pats her friend on the back before going to change.

-

Mike shut the door behind him smiling as he turned around and- “HEY DUDE!” Mike jumps as he’s startled by the curly haired boy that’s in his face. “Oh hey... Dustin?” He says trying to remember the boys name. Dustin nods “That’s me! Welcome to our dorm! Let me show you around!” Mikes surprised at his hard grip as he drags him around the living room, bathroom, bedrooms, and soon they’re in the kitchen.

“This is our kitchen- Hey Will’s here!” Mike smiles at the boy who’s sat on a stool eating a cup of ramen.

“Whats up man? Ready for training tomorrow?” Mike smiles, “I’m ready!” Soon they hear the door open and Lucas walks in, cheeks red and he’s breathing heavily. “Dude are you okay?” Dustin says obviously concerned. “El caught us.” Mike hates the way his heart stutters at her name, he has to remember why he’s here. “Oh shit she caught you having sex? Again?” Lucas chokes on his water. “We do 𝘯𝘰𝘵 talk about that.” Mike chuckles and Lucas turns towards him. “How’s your first day been?” Mikes grins “Great! I really like it here.” Lucas only grins back before Dustin interrupts again. “Oh! we need to cook the pizza before the girls get here!” Mike raises his eyebrows “Girls?” Will nods “My sister and Max, We have sleepovers with them like twice a week.” Will explains. Oh, he’ll get to see El twice a week. He really needs to stop it.

He manages to get Eleanor out of his mind while he unpacks. He was bunking with Will since Dustin and Lucas already shared. Wills room was extremely clean and it felt welcoming. He got into his pjs and soon Dustins loud voice rang through “ELLIE! MAXINE!”

He made his way to the living room where Will was setting up the dvd while El and Max sat on the ground looking through the movies. El looked up and the two made eye contact. El wasn’t wearing make up anymore but he couldn’t help but to notice that she was naturally beautiful. Her plumb lips still pink and soft, long eyelashes, honey brown eyes, skin that looked incredibly soft.

“I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Maxine. But don’t 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 call me Maxine. It’s Max.” Mike has to admit that this girl wasn’t as sweet as El but he smiled nonetheless and shook her hand, “Mike.” She shook his hand then made her way into the kitchen with Will to get a slice of pizza leaving El and Mike alone. “Hey.” He says as he sits next to her. “Hi,” She smiles at him softly and he has to remember the objective. “I’m sorry if Max scared you.” He scoffs jokingly, “Me? Scared? Never.” El giggles, “Want to help me choose a movie?” He leans over her, his mouth close to her ear and he inhales the smell of her shampoo that smells like strawberries.

-

El cannot breathe nor think at the moment, Mikes face is extremely close to hers all she has to do is tilt her head to be able to kiss his lips that look so soft and kissable- “What about Nightmare On Elm Street?” She jumps out of her thoughts at Mikes voice. “I’m sorry?” She turns to Mike and they both suck in a breath as they look at each other, their mouths inches apart, eyes flicker to each other’s lips.

Mike pulls away first. “Um.. Nightmare On Elm Street?” He holds up the movie. El blinks then shakes her head while saying “Oh that- um yeah!” Mike smiles and inserts the disc into the DVD.

El calls for everyone who was in the kitchen and they walk in with popcorn and pizza.

-

Mike sits next to Lucas and El as the movie begins, Lucas hands him the popcorn and he places it on his lap, eyes still on the tv as he reaches for popcorn. He doesn’t reach it, he touches a soft hand instead. His head turns to El who blushes and pulls her hand away. Mike has the sudden urge to reach for her hand again but his phone suddenly rings and everyone screams or Jumps at the sound.

“Sorry!” He checks his screen that lights up the screen flashing, 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 , “it’s my dad, I’m going to the room for a bit-“ the group nods and gets back to the movie as Mike answers the call.

“Hello?”

“Do you have eyes on the target?”

Mike shuts the bedroom door and locks it.

“Yes. I do.”

“Does she seems suspicious of you? I am expecting updates regularly.”

“She’s not suspicious, in fact I think I have her falling for me.” He smirks.

“We need her and her father dead. If having her fall for you will give us the access codes then so be it. I’m trusting you Michael.”

“You can trust me. Eleanor and Jim Hopper will be dead by the end of the month.”

“Good, it’s either their bodies or your family’s.”

The phone call ends abruptly and Mike sighs. He unlocks the door and walks back to the living room. As he sits back down he pays close attention to El’s gaze on him.

“So,” he smiles, “What’d I miss?”

Chapter Text

The group slept quietly,

Lucas hugging Max’s waist on his bed, Dustin hugging a pillow on his side of the room, Will and El sleeping on the same bed,El’s feet in Will’s face, and Mike who was, well.. hacking the computer system. He needed that access code. Sure, he never had a great relationship with his family but Mike knows that he is not letting Brenner anywhere near his family.

When he was younger, about thirteen or fourteen, he had wondered deeply into the woods, completely ignoring the signs that said, ‘Deadly Chemicals, stay out!’ And ‘Private property.’ He had done it for his friend, Troy who called him a wuss and said he wouldn’t walk in. So, Mike did. He climbed over the fence and wondered deeply into the woods, when suddenly he stepped on a branch. Soon three older men were coming at him and he tried to run, tried to scream for his so called friends, they never came back for him. Mike was shoved into a holding cell and held there for hours until they dragged him to an office, there was an older man who sat with a stern expression but soon he smiled at Mike. “What is your name young boy?” Mike didn’t speak, a hard hand slapped him on the face and he winced. The lady who had slapped him spoke “Answer Him!” Mike grabbed his cheek and looked up carefully. “Mike, Mike Wheeler.” They all went silent as they searched something on their computers. Soon a man spoke up. “I found him.” He placed the computer on the old mans desk. “W-Who are you?” Mike looked up carefully at the man. “My name son, is Martin Brenner. I see here that you have a beautiful family, it’s a shame we’ll have to kill them all. “What?!” Mike stood up, “NO, NO, PLEASE, KILL ME INSTEAD.” The people in the room bursted our laughing. “Oh what a selfless little boy. You want your family to live? Stay here, with us. You leave? Your family dies.” Mike swallows. “O-Okay.”

As weeks went by Mike got more and more information about them, Brenner ran secret experience on Children and Adults, he learned more about N.U.S.A , A spy academy that had always stole files from them and took their experiments away. If Mike was being honest he’d rather be with N.U.S.A. They trained him on how to fight and by the time he was 18 he had become one of the best fighters in that lab. Which was why Brenner chose him, promising to let him see his family again.

-

Mikes phone suddenly buzzed causing him to jump, pulling on a wire. A screen appeared asking for a code to shut off the alarm, a timer on the side. “Thirty seconds, Shit.” He muttered packing all of his tools and putting everything back in place, “20 seconds, I can get to the food court.” He ran as fast as he could from the commanders office into the food court, it wasn’t long before he arrived and he was grateful to see three other people getting breakfast, their uniforms already on.

He checked his watch ‘6 seconds.’ and ran to a spot in the line and three seconds later an alarm rang throughout the whole building. Everyone in the food court pulled out a gun, loaded it and ran to the commanders office. Mike ran too, he needed to see if they caught on to anything. When he got there he saw El and Will rush in. It was the first time he saw her and thought ‘Badass’ as she walked in, gun in hand, serious face and everyone moved aside for her. Mike knew why Brenner only wanted El and Hopper dead.

It was no surprise that El and Hopper were related. They both seemed incredibly strong and respected, They had to be powerful too. “Everyone out.” El said in a demanding voice, “We’ll have a meeting with all the top spies during training hours.” As the room cleared out she made eye contact with Mike and signaled him over.

“Hey! Where were you this morning?” El asks kindly while Will eyed Mike. “Hey, I went to the cafeteria to get some Breakfast, What’s going on?” Will suddenly grabs Els shoulder and mutters something in her ear. “Sorry I have to go, I’ll talk to you later.” El says walking away from Mike, Will held his gaze until he shut the door.

-
“Hey, I went to the cafeteria to get some Breakfast, What’s going on?” El opens her mouth to speak but suddenly Wills gripping her shoulder and muttering to her, “El I need talk to you. It’s important.” She sighs, “Sorry I have to go, I’ll talk to you later.” she waves and as soon as Will closes the door to her fathers office she groans, “Ugh can you stop staring at him like he killed our family!” Will rolls his eyes, “El, he’s up to no good, I can sense it.” El knows Will, but Mike? He doesn’t seem like the type to even hurt a fly. “You’re being paranoid, Quit it.” Will rubs his face, a habit he does when he’s frustrated. “Look Ellie, you like the guy, I get it. But please-“ El suddenly interrupts, “I said, Quit. It.”

Will sighed, “Fine.”

When they walked out Mike was gone.

Chapter Text

Joyce Hopper was a sweet, fragile, women in Mikes eyes. When he first saw her it was Thursday, which was strange, He'd been there for one week (it'll have been two on Friday.) and hadn't caught glimpse of her. However when he saw her she was bringing Will lunch and had a sweet smile on her face, but what caught his attention was the security card hanging from her waist. His eyes lit up, that card was the key to every room in that academy, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, he had thought. Now he needed an excuse to steal that card and switch it with a fake.

"Hey sweetie, I brought your lunch!" Will greeted her with a hug, "Thanks mom, this is Mike the-" "The New kid. I know sweetheart, Hi Mike. I'm Joyce! how was your first week?" Mike smiled, (Joyce reminded him of his mother who he hadn't seen since he was twelve.) "Hi Joyce, its nice to meet you, my week was a bit confusing," he wasn't lying. "Aww you're a cutie!" she pinched his cheeks, (something else that reminded him of his mother, he didn't know why all of his true feelings were bubbling up.) "Not to brag but my mom was top fighter, and I bet she could beat you in fight." Will had laugh jokingly, Mike joined in. "Oh I wouldn't want to hurt her!" Mike realized his mistake when he saw Will's face fall and the way Joyce arched her brow. "Oh my god- I- I didn't mean-" "Oh, You're on Mike." Shit.

The training rooms were pretty spacious. A circle in the middle where the two opponents would fight. There were seats surrounding the circle where people could watch the fight. Currently, Will was the watcher and he appeared to be calling his friends to watch. Mike glanced at Joyce who was stretching, her gun, knife and card gone. Wait, her card, where was it?! he quickly looked around the room until he saw it resting under Will's seat. How was he supposed to get it now?? 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! he pulled his phone out to read his messages.

𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨:
𝐄𝐥 ღ：𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮! 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 :( 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶! 𝘣𝘵𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦 ღ

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘪𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

truthfully only one of those two messages made him grin. he quickly wrote back to El, completely ignoring Brenner. (He was going to regret that later.) 𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘌𝘭, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺! 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘭. Just like that he turned back to face Joyce who seemed like she was actually excited to beat him up. "Please, don't hesitate with me. You'll just end up hurting yourself sweetie." Mike gaped for a moment before grinning, "Okay."

yeah.. he will never doubt an older women again.

-

"eek! I'm so excited we finished early! I was dying knowing I couldn't see your mom beat someone up!" Max giggles. "I don't know Max, what if he gets hurt! he's new!" El bit her lip as they continue walking down the hall. "Oh Ellie, you love the boy already!!" Max teased, El blushed furiously. "Max!! nooo I just think he's cute.." Max pushes the door open just in time to see Mikes body fall on the ground. Joyce was holding him in a choke hold while he tapped the ground aggressively. "Yeah Hopper!!" Max cheered. Joyce was to busy waving at Max to notice that she was still not letting go of Mike, who passed out. "MOM YOU MADE HIM PASS OUT! El screamed as she ran over to Mikes limp body.

-

𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘰, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮," 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳. "𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰." 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘺. 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰, "𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺." 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦," 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.

Mike sat up faster then he ever had, tears silently rolling down his cheeks as he looked around the room. the door opened slowly and El came in with her usual sweet smile that dropped when she saw his tears. "Mike? Are you okay?" she asked, tone soft in a way that made him want to melt. 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴. 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴. 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴. "It's stupid," it really was, his dad taught him that boys never cried and for god sake he was nineteen! however, El didn't laugh and tease him. She sat down shyly on the bed next to Mikes legs. "Mike, it's okay if you don't want to tell me." her eyes sparkled, "I just want you to know," she paused, biting her lip. Mike swallowed. "You can trust me, okay?" she looked back up at him with honesty, jesus she was beautiful. "I- I wont make fun-" "I had a nightmare." he blurted. El abruptly stopped. 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥. "I used to have nightmares too, well I still do, about.. an enemy." Mikes eyebrows furrowed.

"What enemy?" "Martin Brenner." Mikes heart dropped. "W-Who is he? what did he do?" El glanced at the ground. "When we were finishing a mission, at his lab, he kidnapped me.. he kept me in a cell where they would hurt me," tears brimmed her eyes, Mike was breathing heavily. "They would torture me until I gave off information on the academy." she was crying now, Mike felt a lump in his throat. "I never did. I was only fourteen-" if there was more she didn't finish because he had her in his arms. El sobbed into his chest while Mike rested his chin on her curls. "I'm so sorry." he really was, he was working with a man that had hurt such a beautiful girl who didn't deserve any of the torture. That's when he decided something, it was going to hurt but he needed to do it. He had to stay away from El. - El had to admit it, she was scared. It had only been a week and she was already falling in love with Mike. "El if your brother doesn't feel good about Mike I don't want you near him." Hopper had told her. She wasn't going to listen, she wanted to get to know Mike and didn't feel suspicious of him. (𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮.) Mike pulled away slowly, not all the way though, their faces inches apart. El reached her hand to trace his cheek slowly. "El.." Mike whispered, he didn't get to talk. El quickly pressed her lips against his soft ones. He froze. Then he was grabbing her face and pulling her closer. Mike pulled away abruptly. Face flushed, lips parted. "El.. we can't.. we can't do this.” El's face dropped.

Chapter Text

"El, We can't do this."

El wasn't one to cry over boys, well truthfully she never had a boyfriend so she wouldn't know. However when she saw Max crying after a fight with Lucas she wouldn't understand the point.

then Mike showed up and her emotions were all over the place.

"W-What?"

"I'm sorry. I- I'm just not.. looking for a relationship in the moment," El was good when it came lying, she was a spy for god sake. which was why she could tell that Mike was lying, it honestly infuriated her. "I get it, Mike. You don't like me." she inhaled a shaky breath. "What? El thats not-" "You could've just told me. I'm sorry for kissing you." she stood up but Mike grabbed her wrist. "El, please, you know i didn't mean that!" he seemed to have regretted it but it was to late, she had to focus. "You have your first Mission tomorrow," She yanked her hand away harder then she meant to, "I recommend you get some rest." She checked her watch that stated eight twenty four. "I'll see you tomorrow." Mike, who seemed confused and hurt at her attitude sighed. "Yeah, tomorrow, goodnight El."

"Goodnight, Mike."

As she walked back to her dorm she stopped at the bathroom. She stared at herself, her mascara was ruined from crying, her eyes worn out. 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵? a small voice in her head whispered. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. She sighed as she walked out of the bathroom. El wasn't even mad at him, but hating someone is better than loving them.. that way they could actually return your feelings.

Okay. Here’s the thing, they had a curfew, it was necessary to be in your dorm by 9:30 and usually El would be talking to friends and staying up until her dad pushed her back into her dorm, so today was strange for Max when she saw El enter the room before nine. "Whats got you all glum?" Max starts, rolling over on her bed to face El who walked in the room and belly flopped onto the bed. "Max?" (her face is smashed on her pillow which makes her kind of hard to understand.) "Yeah Ellie?" El sits up pouting, "Am I pretty?" "Are you joking?" If Max was being honest, El made her insecure sometimes, she was like a seven and had a best friend that was a literal ten by her side. "No.." El sighed falling back on her bed. "El, you're fucking gorgeous of course your pretty! Wait.. is this about Mike?" at his name El groaned. "Did he call you ugly? oh I will kill him El-" she was already at the door when El got in front of her, "Max, no. I just- I kissed him." Max paused, "Wait- your first kiss-" then she was squealing, then crying. "Max- are you okay?" "Me? How are you not freaking out about it?!" "Because he rejected me!" Max started crying. Again.

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"You look like shit." was the first thing he heard as he closed the door behind him. "Thanks Dustin." he sighed. The first thing he did was grab a cup of ramen and cook it. "Hey." Will walked in grabbing a cup of water and chugging it down. "Ready for your first mission?" "I guess." Mike smiled, "What's got you so glum? sad about my mom beating you?" Will teased, Mike chuckled. "Uh no, I just- I messed up i guess..." Will raised an eyebrow and Mike continued. "I told El that we shouldn't be together, she didn't take it well." Will nodded though he looked thoughtful. "Yeah she had been crushing on you for awhile so.." the microwave beeped and Will patted Mike on the back. "Well, she's bipolar so good luck." and just like that he walked out chuckling leaving Mike alone.

𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭: 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿

falling against his bed he groaned.

"Mike."

"Brenner."

"What do you have."

"I have a mission tomorrow.. and I saw the security card we need."

"What about Eleanor? has she given out information?"

"No.."

there was a pause.

"I'll have your sister by tomorrow."

“Brenner Please I just need a day-“

"You had your chance." 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱.

Mike's grip on the phone tightened, he felt sick. Standing up faster then he should've he grabbed his jacket and ran out of the room. he quietly shut the door and ran down the hall. El and her roommate lived four dorms down so he got there pretty fast. Knocking on the door he nervously swallowed. El opened the door, she was wearing grey shorts and white shirt, her face bare and hair down. "Mike-" he grabbed her face and pulled her to him. His lips crashing into hers. El made a noise of surprise against him but then melted into him. "El? what're- oh!" Mike pulls away glancing at Max then back at El. "Come with me?" El gaped "Oh- um- right now?" "Yeah..?" El smiled excitedly "I'll go get my jacket." Mike grinned at her but Max had other plans as she gripped his wrist and yanked him down so they were eye level, "Hurt her, offend her, or Make her upset and I'll kill you in your sleep." Mike could only nod at that.

"I'm ready." El voice piped in. “Bye Ellie!” Max chirped as if she hadn’t just been threatening Mikes life.

Mike grabbed her hand pulling her out of the room. and into the dark hall. “Hey, where are we going?” Mike knew exactly where he was taking her. “I heard that your dads office had a good view,” he suggested. El bit her lip. “We’re not allowed in there..”

“Hey,” Mike stopped their movements, pecking her lips softly. “It’ll be the best first date. What could go wrong?”

a lot could.

For example, Mike convinced El to take him to her fathers office where she put in the seven digit code that allowed them inside. Mike Memorizes it by heart. Then he grabs her waist and turns her so she has her back to her fathers desk, the desk that contains security cards and sticky notes with numbers on them.

“El,” Mike interrupts him and El’s moment. El, who has somehow ended up on Hoppers desk, looks up at Mike. “Yeah?” her fingers played with Mike’s own.

He had been so caught up in getting codes, and information that he hadn’t even looked at her. Mike pauses. The moonlight hit El perfectly. Plump lips, soft brown eyes, cheeks dusted pink, hair soft and curly. “You’re beautiful,” Mike breathes. Except he snaps out of it.

(El’s beautiful, but she doesn’t deserve this, to be used. No one does. He needs to get Holly out of danger. Then he can feel shitty about using El.)

El blushes. “You’re handsome.” He grinned, “Let’s go to the cafeteria?” El smiles “Sure. But I have to go to the bathroom first!” Mike pouts, (it’s as fake as this act.) “Okay! I’ll just meet you there!” but as soon as she’s out of there he drops it and pulls out his phone.

He snaps photos of all the numbers on the card and sends them to Brenner then takes a photo of the security card and the code on the back. As soon as he’s done he runs over to the cafeteria. El is nowhere in sight so he assumes she’s still in the bathroom.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he sees movement.

that’s not El.. that’s..

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Wheeler?”