Mileven One-Shots

Nicknames

(Requested by @SondaCreasy. Hope you enjoy love:))
(Year: 1987)

Mike had all sorts of nicknames for El. Most days he would call her baby. But he called her all sorts of other names, such as darling, sweetheart, sugar, babe, princess, and love. And El was desperate to come up with a nickname to call him, too. Something adorable and romantic.

El woke up in the morning and smiled when she saw Mike beside her. Joyce was super lenient compared to Hopper, and didn't care if Mike stayed over and slept with her. After all, it was better for all of them when El felt safe and was happy.

"Good morning baby," Mike said softly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Good morning handsome," El said. He smiled at her and even though she smiled back, she cringed a bit inside. Handsome? Really? She could do better than that.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked. She nodded and kissed him deeply and then climbed out of bed. She grabbed her pile of folded clothes off the dresser.

"I'm going to take a shower real quick," she said, shutting the bathroom door behind her. She stood in the shower, thinking about cute nicknames for Mike. She really really wanted to come up with a good one.

When she came out of the bathroom, she was met with Mike's lips on hers. She gladly kissed him back and giggled.

"Someone's a little lovey this morning," she said and laughed.

"I just love my girl," he said and chuckled a bit. His girl. Damn was he good.

"I don't want to go to school," she said.

"Me neither. But I'll see you again after," he said. She nodded and caressed his cheek.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too baby," he said. He kissed her sweetly one more time and she blushed. She blew him a kiss as he walked out to his car and pulled out of the driveway. She was sure he spent a lot of gas money to come to see her almost every day.

"El, time to go!" Joyce shouted.

"Coming!" El shouted. She grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs, jumping in the car. When she got to school, she grabbed her needed books for first period and went straight to her friend Alana's locker, where her friend group hung out each morning. All of the girls had boyfriends too except for Jennifer, so they were decently reliable for boyfriend advice.

"Guys I need help," El said, leaning against the lockers and sighing.

"Girl what's going on? Do we need to hurt someone?" Alana asked.

"I need help coming up with a nickname for Mike. He's got all these cute names he calls me and I can't come up with something cute to call him," El said.

"Just call him hot stuff or sexy. That's what I call Jake," Kimberly said and laughed.

"Or you could call him boo or lover," Amber said.

"Those are so...common. I want something different," El whined.

"Call him...bubba," Alana said.

"Bubba? Don't you call little boys bubba? Like your brother?" El asked. Alana and the girls snickered.

"It's got a dual meaning. You can call little brothers that, or it's similar to calling someone baby or sweetie. I call my little brother that, but if you want to call Mike something special or uncommon, you could try that. No harm in trying it once," Alana said and shrugged. El nodded and Alana shut her locker. They all separated and El walked with Kimberly to first period science class. She sat in class all day and thought about calling Mike that nickname. How would she do it? When would she say it? How would she avoid it being awkward?

El got home and tossed her stuff on her bedroom floor. Mike would be there in about an hour, so she had an hour to figure out what to say. An hour passed quickly, because before she knew it Mike was in her doorway.

"You okay?" He asked. She didn't realize she'd just been sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at the doorway blankly.

"What? Oh...yea, I'm alright. Just...thinking. How was your day?" She asked.

"Good. No homework, thankfully. How was yours?" He asked.

"Alright. I was tired. I wish I could've been here with you all day," she said and stood up, walking into his arms.

"Me too. But hey, I heard a new song today and it made me think of you. Want to hear it?" He asked. She giggled and nodded and he put the tape into her little tape player and pressed the play button. Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" started playing and Mike took El's hands and started dancing around the room with her. El loved the upbeat, excited tone of the song and it made her smile. She was dancing with someone who loved her.

She stopped him and grabbed his face and kissed him.

"I love you bubba," she said and giggled. Mike smiled ear to ear and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I love you too. Where'd you get bubba?" He asked and giggled.

"You don't like it?" She asked.

"I thought it was adorable. I loved it," he said. She threw her arms around his neck and their noses and foreheads pressed together.

"It means baby. Or sweetie. And you're my sweetie. You're my bubba," she said and kissed his nose.

"Well in this case, you're my bubba, too," he said and chuckled softly. He put his hands on her waist and kissed her lovingly.

"So what's the plan? It is Friday, after all," El said.

"Well I was thinking tonight we go see a movie together. There's a couple you might like; The Princess Bride or Dirty Dancing," Mike said.

"You can pick whatever, bubba," El said and giggled.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Mike said and kissed her. They went out to his car and held hands all the way to the movies. El smiled every time she thought about how Mike liked his new nickname. She'd have to stick with it from now on.