mileven oneshots [completed]

first date

this is more father-daughter bonding, but it's so cute. hopper and el look for clothes for el's first official date with mike. 

"yeah, but we don't really need to buy this because mike's not gonna see it. right?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"dress, skirt, or pants, el? what are you thinking?" hopper asked, entering the clothing store, his daughter walking beside him. 

it was mike and el's first date today. 

"hmm....i wanna wear pants. it's nothing big, just a movie and dinner," el said. el didn't have very many clothes considering she lived in a cabin for a year with nothing but the chief's mom's clothes, and she had whatever kali gave her and a casual dress that was also from the chief's mom, as well as her two pairs of her classic overalls and some t-shirts. 

she didn't have very much. 

so hopper decided to take her to the clothing store for this special occasion. hopper wasn't sure how he felt about his twelve-year-old daughter going on a date, but being with mike made el happy, so he had to give into that. 

she started looking at the clothes as soon as they entered the store. the store wasn't a brand store, so everything there, for the most part, was cheap. 

she started looking at shorts and sweaters, and her eyes finally landed on some high waisted jeans which she took off the rack and handed to her father. she then found a plain white shirt that was thin and folded on a rack, which she unfolded and examined before giving it to the chief. she then grabbed a women's belt and a pair of sunglasses smiled at her father before placing it in his arms. 

she started walking to the dressing room, hopper trailing behind her. hopper glanced at the bland clothes that el gave him.

"hey, el?" hopper asked, "don't you want something, a little fancier?" 

el looked back, then said softly, "we're just going to the movies," 

"well.....," hopper sighed, and stared off into space, then thought, "what if you get cold?" 

el didn't turn back this time, "mike will keep me warm," 

hopper sighed, "well.....what if he's getting snacks or something? like, he's in the bathroom? how are you gonna be warm then?" 

she kept walking towards the dressing rooms, scanning other outfits on the way, assuredly saying, "he'll give me his jacket," 

"well....," hopper trailer off, "what if mike doesn't want to give you his jacket? i mean, he wants you to be warm, but then he'll be cold," 

right before el entered the dressing room, she grabbed a black leather jacket from off the rack, spun around, grabbed her clothes from hopper, and held the jacket up to him, walking backward into the dressing room, saying, "happy?" 

hopper was left speechless as he shut the door on her. he scoffed, then said, "hey, i wanna see those clothes before i buy them," 

hopper went to go sit down in the waiting area they had. he kept thinking about his supposed daughter. she was only twelve and going on her first date with that boy. i mean, i guess if he wanted her to date someone, it should be mike. he's a really respectable boy. a bit of a nerd, but a good boy nonetheless. hopper knew he'd treat her right. it's unlikely that they'd stay together forever, but he knew that what they had at that moment was special. 

"dad, i'm coming out," el called out. 

hopper got up and watched his little girl come out of the dressing room. 

she looked like a badass. 

when she came out of the dressing room, it reminded him of when she came through joyce's door to help kill the mind flayer and save will. 

she spun around before asking, "what do ya think?" 

he smiled,  "it's perfect. let's go buy it," 

she changed back into her clothes, and they went up to the checkout stand and she put her clothes on the counter. 

but then hopper saw something on the counter that he didn't see that she was trying on. 

"el, what's this?" hopper asked, holding up the bra by the strap. it was white with black polka dots on it. 

"a bra," she said innocently, "there's a matching underwear in there, too," 

hopper raised his eyebrows, and held it up higher, "yeah, but we don't really need to buy this because mike's not gonna see it. right?" 

 el laughed, "no, but nancy said it's good comfort for the twins," 

hopper gaped at her, "what?" 

hopper heard a light chuckle from the cashier. 

what has nancy been teaching her while she's over there? nancy was supposed to be a chaperone, not his brother's girlfriends fashion designer. 

"i only had one of those, and it's falling apart. i need a new one. stop being so weird about this," el said casually. 

hopper sighed and eventually released the bra, and went up to the chuckling cashier. hopper paid about thirty dollars for the whole outfit. el grabbed her clothes and carried her bag to the car. 

on their way out, eleven stopped at by a blue dress perfectly fitted on a slender mannequin, "may be i can wear this to the snowball," she whispered, playing with the sleeves.

hopper raised his eyebrows, "the what now?" 

"mike promised he'd take me to the snowball. back when i barely knew what a promise was," el said, chuckling. she stroked the blue dress polka-dotted with pink. 

"when is it? it's going to be really hard to convince dr.owens to give you another free night," the chief said. 

"it's not for another month," el said, eying the dress sadly, "i mean, i guess i don't have to go. it's fine,"

she turned away from the dress and headed out of the store to the car. hopper didn't move. he instead stared at the blue dress, he didn't really know what to do. he hated the idea of her going to a dance with a boy, but he hated it even more when she was unhappy. usually, when she's unhappy and she has control, she exerts it. but now, regarding this snowball, she knows she doesn't have any control. she just has to accept that the promise mike made nearly a year ago as invalid. 

but eleven liked this boy so much. 

hopper sped up to match eleven, who was right next to the car in a nearly empty parking lot, "just give me a few days, and i'll see what i can do with dr.owens,"

eleven's face lit up light a christmas tree, putting the clothes in the backseat, "really?" 

"yeah. i'll even let you wear some eyeshadow and lipstick," hopper said. 

a huge smile appeared on her face as she threw her arms around hopper, who was significantly much taller than her, so he had to squat for him to comfortably wrap his arms around her. 

"thanks. you're the best dad ever," she muttered into his shoulder. 

"well, just remember, i'm gonna try. i'm not sure if i can make it happen," he said .

"i know," she said, "that's what makes you evern greater,"