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mike & elMike drove along the winding roads of Hawkins, with the brightest smile on his face. He was on his way to El's, which was always exciting, but today was special.
He was surprising her and finally giving her the present he got for her birthday.
Ever since he had gotten it a few days ago, he'd been dying to give it to her. Not only because he couldn't wait to see her face when she saw it, but also because the thing was quite the handful...
He swiftly made the turn onto El's road, while glancing over to make sure it didn't slide right off into the floorboard.
"El's gonna love you. I know it!" He told the little guy safely sitting next to him in the passenger seat. "You're gonna love her too!"
It barked in response, continuing to do so until Mike pulled in the driveway and shut the car off.
"Alright, let's go buddy!" He spoke in a high pitched voice while quickly scooping the dog up in his arms. He grabbed the dog food and other essentials he had bought from the backseat, then trudged up the sidewalk, trying his best not to drop anything... especially the dog.
He set the large bags down on the porch with a huff, then knocked heavily on the door. It was soon opened by Hopper, holding a half empty bag of chips in his hands.
Great.
"Uh, Wheeler... What's that?" The man asked, eyeing the white ball of fur in his arms, as if he had never seen such a thing before.
"Nothing!" Mike claimed, slipping right past him before he could ask more questions, and heading straight for El's room.
Before he approached her bedroom door, he did his best to hide the dog behind him and out of sight. After all, this was a surprise...
"Mike!" El excitedly called out, once he came into her view. "I didn't know you were coming by today!"
She quickly got up off her bed and rushed over to him, making a move to give him a hug, but he stepped back before she could.
"What's wrong?" She worriedly asked, knowing that something was surely up if he refused a hug from her.
"Nothing! I just... I brought you your birthday present!"
El's worries faded away at the mention of a present. She grinned shyly, wondering what it was that he got her, until she noticed he was holding something behind his back.
She attempted to get a peek of it, until that something made a rather loud noise.
"Happy Early Birthday!" Mike happily told her, revealing the furry creature in his arms.
"Oh my God! You got me a dog!!" El squealed, instantly taking him from Mike's arms. "Mike! He's so cute!"
"I know how much you like dogs, so..."
"This is the best gift I've ever gotten!" She wholeheartedly shouted, squealing a little more as she cuddled the dog closer to her. "I love him!
"And I love you!" El added, her body practically springing forward and planting her lips onto his.
Mike was caught a bit off guard by her sudden show of affection, but he recovered, eagerly kissing her back.
El pulled away from the kiss first, with an even wider grin than before, but then her attention went back to the dog in her arms, as he expected it to. She loved him already and Mike couldn't be happier about that.
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The two eventually moved to sit on El's floor, playing around with the dog for so long that Mike didn't know how much time had passed since he had gotten there. He wore an adoring grin the entire time, watching as his girl raved over her new furry friend.
She had laid down on the floor next to him and of course, the dog wouldn't stop licking all over her face, but that only made her happier, if that were even possible.
"So, what are you gonna name him?" Mike asked, his simple question making her gasp lightly.
"I get to name him?"
"Of course! He's like your baby, so name him whatever you want."
"Hm..." El racked her brain for a name, dismissing most of the ones that came to mind. This was their dog, it couldn't have some boring name. "Oh I got it!"
El was about to share with him what she knew was the perfect name, but Hopper came in before she had the chance. "Mike, your mom just called, she wants you home for dinner."
"Okay, thanks." Mike replied, then looked back to El. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to or his mom would be furious. "I better get going, you two don't have too much fun without me."
Mike leaned over to kiss her cheek, not caring one bit that Hopper was in the room. El sat up from her place on the floor, stealing a quick hug, before letting him get up to leave.
"So we have a dog now?" Hopper unenthusiastically gathered from the new house guest Mike had so unsuccessfully snuck in.
"Yes, and his name's Yoda!" El announced, then went on to talk to Yoda in the typical pet talk voice. "He is a good boy! A good boy is he!"
Mike busted out laughing, finding her Yoda impression to be quite adorable. He also thought the name was perfect.
"I'm not even going to ask." Hop groaned, shaking his head at their antics. As much as he didn't want an animal in the house, he saw how happy that dog made her. No way was he taking that away.
"Bye, El. I'll see you tomorrow, first thing." Mike assured her, from where he stood in the doorway.
"Bye!" She smiled, then lifted Yoda in the air, gently waving his paw at Mike. "Yoda says bye too! He's gonna miss his dad! Won't you little guy?"
Yoda barked just as she had said that, making her giggle as she placed a loving kiss to his head.
Mike got one last look at the happy sight before him, then took off toward the front door.
"Wheeler." Hop sternly called out from behind him. Mike froze, cautiously turning around to face him, knowing that he was probably about to get in big trouble for getting El a dog without asking.
"Yeah?"
"Don't bring home any more animals, okay?"
"Got it." He shortly replied, before waving goodbye and scampered off feeling utterly relieved that Hop didn't kill him.
Mike hopped back in his car as happy as can be, only to find that Yoda had peed all in the front seat, just like he had multiple times on the carpet in his room.
He couldn't be mad though, not one bit. After seeing El's happiness over the little dog, it was all worth it.