Mileven Stories

We All Have a Hunger (1993)

Thank you to the brilliantly kind s-stilltrying for this request!
WARNING: the following includes the topic of dieting. If this is a sensitive topic that you feel may cause distress, please do not feel forced to read this update. If anyone needs someone to talk to, please feel welcome to privately message me❤️
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At just twenty one years old, Mike Wheeler had taken the liberty of crowning himself the king of doing laundry. He went phenomenally against the standard stereotypes and found the process of washing, drying, and folding to be quite soothing.

On the other hand, El couldn't stand doing the minuscule chore. Her reasoning for being so opposed to it was simple; there were too many rules to abide by when it came to doing laundry, which is exactly why she chose not to engage with it.

One day while his fiancée was out running errands, Mike had chosen to stay in so he could catch up on the piles of dirty clothes they had accumulated over the past week. In fact, he had decided to make an event out of the task at hand by putting on his favorite David Bowie record and enjoying a glass of dark red wine.

He had already completed the first delicate load and was now busy putting those items away. He opened up El's side of the dresser and smiled at the sight before him. His girl always had cold feet and it seemed as though she had accumulated an obscene amount of thick socks over the past several years in efforts to keep her warm.

Mike was nearly finished putting the last few pairs of socks and undergarments away when he suddenly took notice of a small notepad that had been stuffed secretively behind Eleven's lace section. He knew he shouldn't look further at what it was, especially because he trusted her with his entire life; but pure curiosity got the best of him.

He wasted no time before hastily sneaking his itchy fingers into the far back corner of the drawer. A moment later, he was reigned victorious after snatching the pair of panties that had been hiding the suspicious item. His subconscious was scolding him, begging him to respect her privacy; but the forefront of his mind was far too intrigued to know more.

The pages came unfolded easily, almost like it was daring him to read. His guilty eyes scurried along, drinking in the words that had been written in her looped handwriting.

His eyebrows furrowed after a pattern started to form. The pages had dates and chronological lists detailing the meals she had eaten on those days. As the pages continued, the days became more and more recent.

Mike's mind was reeling. He was entirely too trapped in his own world; trying so desperately to recall when his fiancée's new habit had formed that he hadn't even heard the apartment door open.

The hair's stood up on the back of Mike's neck as a voice spoke from behind him, "kid, I was in the neighborhood and wanted to drop off some food—"

The pair of risqué underwear he had been holding along with Eleven's notebook clattered to the floor.

"Oh Jesus," Hop muttered at the scene before him as he shook his head in disapproval, "what the hell are you doing?"

Mike held his hands up like he was guilty for committing a federal offense, "I-I was putting away laundry and I-I found this.. this notebook. I didn't know, I'm—"

Hopper recognized the boy's panicked rambling and immediately closed the space between them, bringing his almost son in law into a firm grasp. He held him in place until his body stopped unnecessarily shaking.

"Mike, are you okay?" the man asked after a few moments of silence.

His shaggy hair flew as he nodded hastily, "yeah, yeah I'm okay. I just didn't know El was dieting."