26. Anger

A/N: Today marks the one-year anniversary of this one shot book! *chucks confetti*

It's crazy how much has happened in the past year and how, through it all, this project has been a constant for me, giving me a creative outlet to, not only explore my writing style to my heart's content, but to obsess and cry and swoon over two of my favorite people who deserve the entire world. And you guys have supported me throughout this whole adventure-so, whether you've been here from the beginning (props to you, because wow, that's dedication!) or you're just joining in, thank you, thank you, thank you, I could not have done it without every single one of your kind reviews and the 190 people who have favorited and followed this book! I love each and every one of you!

On that note, I'm very sorry for this chapter, prepare for your emotions to be played with...I know I've used some of these themes in my one-shots before, but I thought I'd expand on them a little more! Also, shoutout to WisherEternal who inspired a pivotal point in this story.

(Please don't hate me for this!)

It's no secret that Mike and Eleven are people of extremes. It's one of the reasons they work so well together—they understand how intense the other's emotions can get if left unchecked. If they were sad, they were devastated, if they were happy, they were ecstatic, if they loved, it was fiercely and unconditionally. There was no in between, it was either all or nothing. And that's okay, because they both knew from experience how to deal with those raw, extreme emotions when they came out from the other person.

But what that also means is that the two both held fiery tempers that could blaze up in an instant and took a while to be cooled off and contained. Anger was one of the hardest emotions they had to deal with and it took some time to figure out how to calm the other person down when they were furious. But, because they persevered, they finally found the best way to cool the flames in each other. It was simple—give them some space and time to breathe, before they went and helped their anger simmer down through kisses and cuddles. It worked every time...until one day, they found themselves being mad, no, furious, at each other. And without someone to help tame their tempers...well...let's just say that fighting fire with fire always ends up with someone getting burned...

He's doing it again. In their first year or so of being together, this happened all the time and she didn't bat an eye. It previously would've made her feel warm and cared for. But now, they've been together for three and a half years and she could've sworn they were past this stage.

"Mike, please stop talking like that." His explanation of their physics project halts and he looks up in confusion. "...like what?" "Like...like I'm a baby. I understand you just fine, you don't have to be gentle." "Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't even realize I was doing that...okay, thanks for telling me," he says with a smile. Five minutes later, it's slipped back into his voice and she's starting to lose a grip on her patience. "Mike!" she says more abruptly than she meant to. He looks at her in alarm. "What?!" "You're doing it again. Please stop," she tells him, her tone completely serious. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. But I'm just trying to help you, you know that, right?" "Yes...but you're talking like you'd talk to a little kid, not someone your own age," she tries to explain to him the best she can, her voice fighting to stay strong. He nods slowly. "That makes sense...okay, tell me if it happens again," he says with a smile that looks suspiciously forced to her.

By the time he starts talking again and she starts comprehending what he's saying, she realizes she's extremely confused, having not really paid attention for the past minute, as all her focus was on his tone. She interrupts him mid-sentence. "You know what, let's do this tomorrow, I can't focus," she says, already starting to pack up her things. Dang it, now she'll have to put off working on her project for another day, meaning she'll have to cram more in at the end, all because Mike couldn't control his stupid..."baby voice".

He reads her face like a book and scrambles to catch up with her, sensing something brooding. "Hey, whoa, you're not actually mad about this, are you?" He says, placing himself in front of her so she stops walking. She purses her lips and looks down at the ground. "And if I am?" she says quietly, her eyes holding something he hasn't seen in a long time as she looks back up at him. "Well...well then we should resolve this," he tells her, clearly flustered.

It's a second nature at this point. Her mind trips over the unfamiliar word and she automatically repeats, "Resolve?" His voice softens, but more so than usual as he explains, "Make a problem better." It comes to her attention just how grated her nerves have become when a flash of anger rips through her at his tone of voice. "Mike, that is the third time today you've talked to me like that," and her stern voice catches him off guard. "Well, I'm sorry El, but...but it's...you know, it's what I'm used to."

That does it. That's the trigger thatpulls the pin on the bomb hiding somewhere deep within her and the countdown begins as her anger flares up.

"Yeah, but after three years...THREE years, you didn't stop to think that I'd grown up a little? I'm not that scared little kid you found anymore!" she forcefully tells him, taking a step towards him. "I know, and I'm proud of you, I'm proud of how far you've come...but El, you do not know everything yet, and I'll always be here to help you." Even though she can see the frustration seep onto his face, she curses him and his kind words knowing how to calm her down. But she shoves those feelings aside, not wanting to calm down, the bomb still ticking relentlessly inside of her.

"You're treating me like I'm less than you. Like I can't understand you if you don't talk to me like I'm your little sister!" "Okay, okay!" His hands fly up defensively as she takes another step closer. "So that's something I could work on, I get it. But you have to be patient with me, it's habit, and I hope you can understand that it'll be hard to break!" "Fine, as long as you're less patient with me!"

That's...not how she meant to phrase that, she realizes the split second after the words are out of her mouth and she watches his features drop and his eyes flare up. "No." "What?" "No. No, I won't be less patient with you. I won't stop caring for you and helping you, just because..." She knows where this sentence is going and she cuts him off. "That is NOT what I'm asking Mike! What I'm asking is that you open your eyes and see that I am not below you and I don't need your little baby voice!" "I get that El, I get your point. But you're not listening to me. I will try to stop that, but it's gonna be hard!" His hands clench around the straps of his backpack.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"And you know why that is?" she asks, her voice dangerously low and her temper dangerously high. "Yeah, because that's how I helped you for three..." Her glare pins him and he stops, knowing where she's going with this. "So you're saying you've loathed the way I've explained things to you for who knows how long and you've never bothered to say anything?"

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"El, you have to learn to stick up for yourself! If I would've known, this would've stopped sooner!" "I figured you'd grow out of it, because you would've realized I'm your girlfriend and not a kindergartner!" she all but yells back. "But you still should've said something! This is how I've always interacted with you! So every time I've helped you, you've gotten annoyed? Every time I've tried to show you something new and help you explore the world, you've gotten frustrated? If you haven't appreciated what I've tried to do for you, I can live with that, but letting me play into...into a LIE?"

She's shaking. Tick. Tick. Tick.

"So then you've just been using me and for what? Just as a dictionary? Just for kisses when you feel like it? Just to help you get into school? For...for p-pity? Because I'm a nerd with no other friends ex-except the Party?" He's trembling, his eyes turning red as he fights back tears and she angrily wipes away her own. But he's not done yet.

"Dammit El, I care about you so much and I thought you did too. Friends don't lie, El. And you? You've been lying. I'm sorry that I've hurt you. I'm sorry that you don't appreciate all I've done for you."

Tick.

"Mike."

"But if that's all you need, I'll just be on my way." And with that, his voice breaks and he turns away from her, headed towards the bike racks with his head hanging low and his hands gripping his straps.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

No. No, he can't just walk away. How dare he. She's furious, more so than she's been in a very, very long time. Without a second thought, her powers come to life and she grabs onto his receding form, hastily lifting him up a few inches above the ground and drags him back to her, the bomb on its last countdown.

:05

She's literally seeing red.

:04

He slowly turns around to face her and his face is a mask of pain and anger.

:03

He takes a step toward her and looks her dead in the eye. She crosses her arms.

:02

He takes a breath and she braces herself, standing defiantly, glaring at him, ready to fire back.

:01

"What is wrong with you?" he whispers.

He might as well have slapped her in the face.

The bomb defuses. All she's left with is an overwhelming numbness and a grief that stabs at her heart, as if someone had doused her fire with water and replaced it with pain.

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no, he's leaving. He's getting on his bike and he's leaving her. He can't leave. He has to come back. Oh no no no, please come back.

She can't breathe, the tears are so thick. Her emotions are drowning, swallowing her up whole and she falls to her knees on the cement, shaking as she struggles to comprehend what had just happened.

What had she done?

'You didn't do anything. He's the one who made it a freaking big deal,' her thoughts reason and she begs herself to listen to them. With all her heart, she didn't want this to be her fault, but the awful, awful feeling in her gut told her it was. That she was the one not listening to him.

Not knowing what rationale to believe, she buries her head in her knees and cries and cries and cries.

He's gone. He's gone. He's gone and she doesn't know how to fix it. She doesn't know how this is going to get better. She doesn't know anything besides how badly she wishes the last ten minutes could be swept from her mind and she could redo the entire conversation. Because it hurts, it hurts so much and she just wants him back, but he probably hates her guts now and...oh no, what if he never speaks to her again? She's mad at him, yes, (furious even), but she hadn't meant to push him away...well maybe she did, he was being such a...such a...knucklehead. But maybe she was too? Ugh, she doesn't know, she doesn't freaking know and she just wants everything to slow down and rewind but it can't, and she misses him and...

"El? El! Oh my gosh, what happened?" she hears and she peeks out from behind her knees just for long enough to see Lucas jogging towards her. Her body tenses automatically when he kneels down beside her and she bites back a sob as he places his hand on her arm. He looks around worriedly before his eyes land back on her. "Where's Mike?" he asks and it breaks her.

Burying her face back behind her knees, she wills herself not to fall apart completely, but she's dangerously close as she sobs, knowing she sounds like her heart is being ripped out of chest, which is not far from the truth at all. An arm hesitantly wraps around her shoulders and through her cloud of despair, she finds a shred of appreciation for her friend, who definitely isn't world's biggest fan of physical contact.

He lets her cry it out, doing his best to calm her down by letting her lean against him and shyly rubbing her arm and when she finally, finally is reduced to shuddering gasps and occasional sniffles, he asks a question she doesn't want to answer. "Did he hurt you?"

Mike's final, heated words echo through her mind and her bottom lip quivers as she nods. As much as she hates admitting it, she knows he shouldn't take all of them blame. "And...and I h-hurt him too," she whispers, wiping at her eyes. She doesn't dare look at Lucas's face, knowing he's probably shocked.

Her and Mike have never fought. They've argued, but it never lasted for very long and it always ended with them apologizing profusely over and over. It's what they were known for—disagreements have never been able to split them apart and everyone knows it. But now...now that that reputation has been broken, she's lost. She's lost and helpless and she's scared. Her and Hopper have fought plenty of times, sure, but he's her guardian. They have to work it out between them no matter what, since they live together under the same roof and it's his job to provide for her. But Mike? Mike has no obligation to come back to her. She loves him immensely and she could've sworn he felt the same, but what if...what if this was so bad that he was having second thoughts about his feelings? What if he never speaks to her again? What if they never repair this? What if...

No. What if's aren't going to get her anywhere. She needs to breathe. She needs to...she needs to think, but her mind is still a mess and even breathing seems hard enough right now with how stuffed up she is from crying.

She'd kind of forgotten that Lucas is sitting beside her until he speaks again. "Do you want me to talk to him?" he asks her and her eyes go wide. She furiously shakes her head and he furrows his brow. "Do you want to talk about it?" "No," she whispers. Eventually, yes, maybe he or someone else could help her figure out how to fix this, but it's too fresh, too sudden. "Well, what can I do, El?" he asks softly. "Take me home," she mumbles and he agrees without a second thought.

The bike ride back to the cabin is quiet as he pedals through town. Her thoughts have slowed down and she just feels exhausted, physically and emotionally. She doesn't want to think about what Hopper's gonna say, she doesn't want to think about how she has to see Mike on Monday, she doesn't want to think about how she's gonna get her project done, she doesn't want to think.

When they roll up to the cabin, Lucas turns to her as she climbs off the bike. "El, please let one of us know if you need help. You and Mike can't live without one another, and you know it." She merely nods, knowing he's right and hugs her friend goodbye, before dashing up the steps to the front door.

Unlocking it with her powers, she steps through and shuts it, heading straight to her room without a second glance at her dad. "I don't want to talk about it," she announces shakily before she slams her bedroom door and collapses onto her bed.

By some miracle, she manages to fall asleep within minutes of laying down, praying that when she wakes up, this will have all been one big, horrible dream.

The second his bedroom door closes, the wave of tears he'd been pushing back as he furiously pedaled home came crashing down and he collapses on his bed, burying his face in his pillow to muffle his sobs. He hasn't cried this hard in over a year and while he feels kind of dumb doing it, there are too many swirling emotions within him to do anything but.

He sobs out of frustration that things had gotten out of hand, out of the pain El's words had caused him and the emptiness he now felt because she probably would never want to see him again.

That's what hurts the most. The fear that this means things are over between them. The logical side of him whispers that their relationship is strong enough that this can't be enough to break them, but right now he's scared and confused and it's all such a mess.

How had it gotten so bad so quickly?

He lets his tears naturally come to an end before he rolls into his back and stares up at his ceiling. His breaths come in short gasps, but at least his mind has somewhat cleared. Only to be replaced with images of her seething as she listens to him and the painful tone to her words. As much as it hurts, he forces himself to replay their argument, wanting to understand who exactly had started it and where he had started to lose his temper.

Because he knows he overreacted. With everything within him, he doesn't want to admit that, he doesn't want to be the one who has to apologize. But hearing her say that she had been hiding something from him, something important that he definitely wished he had known, made something inside him snap and his mouth ran off without his mind being able to catch it.

Still, if she had been understanding in the first place that it was going to take him some time to stop doing what she thought he was doing, none of this would've ever happened. And yes, it's second nature for his voice to soften a little bit when he's explaining something to her, so sue him. It wasn't ever his intention to treat her like a kid, he just didn't want his voice to sound condescending. And she'd never shown any signs of being annoyed before, so why was she just mentioning it now? Why on earth had she let it go on for so long? It pains him immensely to know he'd been (maybe?) buying into the lie that when she needed help, she'd been too busy being pissed off at the way he was supposedly talking and, consequently, at him, to actually listen.

With a frustrated growl, he punches his pillow at the thought of her faking it around him. He's never had a problem being able to read her, so he should've been able to pick up on it if something was...off when he explained something to her, right? Unless she was just really, really good at hiding it...

'I could ask her tomorrow,' he reasons with himself, before reality crashes in and he bites his lip as another tear runs down his temple, his anger dissolving considerably. There's no way she'd want to talk to him tomorrow, let alone discuss the issue they'd just fought about. He'd hurt her, he knows he did, he knows he's not blameless. He knew it the second his final question was out of his mouth. What he wouldn't give to take that back, to calm himself down, to stop the rant that inevitably was the final blow in their fight. His stupid temper got the best of him and...ugh, it had never caused anything but hurt.

'Stupid, stupid, STUPID,' he chides himself, digging his nails into his palms and letting himself begin to cry again.

He misses her. He misses her so much. It can't just be over like this, he needs her so badly. Even though she wasn't completely faultless either, that didn't change how hard he'd fallen for her and how his heart absolutely belonged to her and her alone. Had she lost her patience with him way too quickly? Yes. Had she broken one of their most sacred rules? Also yes. Was he mad at her? ...yes. He didn't want to be. But he was.

Was he still undeniably in love with her? Yes.

They had to talk it out. He didn't want to face it, face her, but they had to. He had to. He couldn't let her go, not now, not ever. And there's no way this was going to be their first fight, so they might as well figure out how to solve them now, right?

But not tonight. Definitely not tonight. He needs to let the dust settle.

...maybe.

...or maybe he should talk to her. Maybe she's devastated and misses him as much as he misses her.

He rises to his feet and heads for the door.

...or maybe she's still boiling mad and he'd only make it worse. He knows how long it takes for her to calm down, he reasons as he plops back down on his bed.

...or maybe...maybe she thinks he hates her and is never gonna talk to her again and she'll spend the rest of her life avoiding him.

That does it. He strides across his room and throws open the door. Checking to make sure Nancy has indeed left for the weekend, he dashes across the hall into her room and is holding her baby blue phone in one hand, dialing the cabin's phone number before he can give his actions a second thought.

When it starts ringing, he only briefly wonders what the hell he's going to say to her, before the chief's gruff voice answers on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hopper, it's...it's Mike." Wow, if Hopper can't tell that he's been crying, he had to be deaf. But he presses on, determined to get his girl on the line. "I was just wondering if-"

"Kid, I don't know what you did to her or, hell, what she did to you, but she's locked herself in her room and hasn't come out since she got home."

Of course she did. That's what she always does. He bites his tongue before he can tell Hopper how to coax her out (which he's accomplished many times) and instead says, "I...I just need to talk to her. Please. Can you at least go tell her I'm trying to reach her?" Over the phone, he hears Hopper sigh, then there's a clatter as the phone is left to dangle on the wall. He listens intently as he hears the chief say something, most likely talking to El through the door. Then, silence. More silence. There's a muffled "El?", before the sound of a door creaking open and he dares to hope, hope she'll be willing to come to the phone.

There's a few distant harsh words and his heart sinks when he realizes she's talking. And then a "Hey, watch it, young lady!" "Go away!" he hears her yell, followed by a door slam and he feels his face crumple. "Kid, she threw a book at me. I'm guessing that means no," Hopper tells him, sounding exasperated. "Thanks anyway," Mike manages to get out in as much of a level voice as he can handle, before he hangs up and runs back to his room.

Unbeknownst to the other, Mike and El both cry themselves to sleep that night.

The only reason El comes out of her room the next day is to hastily eat her meals, avoiding eye contact with Hopper and just generally moping about. She attempts to do the homework she's been assigned for the weekend, but she can't concentrate, her mind continuously wandering back to yesterday. When the afternoon rolls around, she realizes there's no use pretending she can focus and with a sigh, she pushes her papers to the side and lets herself fall back on her bed.

She hasn't felt this depressed since those days when she was locked up in the cabin. Her heart feels heavy, her body like it has no energy left. She can't even tell if it hurts anymore, everything is just so...dull.

She knows she should talk about it...process her feelings and come to a resolution as to how to move forward, but the only person she ever felt comfortable doing that with was the one who'd hurt her in the first place. Hopper is terrible at relationship advice and she really doesn't want their other friends to know what's going on...they'd bug the two of them incessantly about it and while she loved them to death, wow, could that get annoying.

Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and wills her thoughts to slow, wills her emotions to stop overlapping one another. It's a process, but eventually she gets to one question.

What happens now?

Not resolving this is not an option, she bitterly admits to herself, but there's no way in heck she's going to be the first to apologize. He's going to have to make the first move, because all she was trying to do was confront him about an issue. Sure, she'd been a little harsh, but that seemed so insignificant compared to how overdramatic he was being. For goodness sake's, she asked him to change something and all of a sudden, she's a liar and has been using him for her own selfish purposes. She was well aware of how quickly his anger could get out of hand, but wow, had he taken it way too far this time. If he'd actually meant the things he said...she doesn't know if she can handle that, she realizes as a lump begins to form in her throat. His words cut her deep, deeper than they probably should've.

Somewhere, deep inside her, a voice whispers, "you hurt him too," and she winces, thinking back to what she was accused of. It wasn't entirely true that she had been annoyed every time he explained something to her, in fact, quite the opposite. It was one of the things she adored about him, how he seemed to devote his entire attention to her as he taught her something new about the world in terms she would understand. Honestly, that wasn't the problem, the problem was his tone of voice.

It was similar to the one she'd heard him use with Holly and once she figured that out, wow, did it piss her off. Holly was seven. She was fifteen. And granted, if he was in a hurry, his explanation was short and sweet and normal, but when it's more complicated, like her project, it baffles her how he slips into treating her like she's too stupid to comprehend what he's saying unless he's extra gentle with her.

She knows he doesn't do it to hurt her. She knows he doesn't do it to make her feel inferior. So, for a while, she refused to let it annoy her, but it did and she let it go on for too long and now they're here and now...and now she just wants him back. Even if she has to put up with his little kid voice, he's still worth it. He'll always be worth it.

She mopes around for most of Saturday, keeping to herself in her room and trying her hardest to keep her thoughts from drifting to places she doesn't want to go. She's waiting, really. She's waiting for him to come to her and make this right. Sure, she could do it, but her own pride is holding her back, refusing to let her cave and take the higher road, whatever that means.

She drifts off to sleep absolutely miserable that night.

When the secret knock resonates through the cabin at way-too-early o'clock on Sunday morning, she blearily drags herself out of bed, assuming Hopper forgot something and came back to get it. Sleep still clouds her brain as she rubs her eyes, making her way over to the door and unlocking it half heartedly.

"What did you forget-"

Oh.

That's not Hopper.

It's Mike.

It's Mike and he looks like he hasn't slept well in years. Her first instinct is to throw herself into his arms, as is their usual greeting whenever they see each other, but when reality comes crashing down and she finally remembers that her heart is currently broken, she almost slams the door in his face as a thousand emotions flash through her body.

Instead, she stares numbly at him, her words failing her as she watches him work up the courage to say something. After what seems like forever, he takes a breath and straightens up. "We need to talk," he says firmly.

Reluctantly, she nods, fighting to keep her face neutral. "Two minutes," she mumbles before shutting the door softly to go get ready.

As she changes out of her pajamas and pulls on her clothes for today, her thoughts are quiet and empty, her body going on autopilot as she fights through each emotion that pops up. She won't deny how great it felt to see him again but what she wasn't expecting was how the sight of him hurt, for lack of a better term. The only word she can conjure up to describe it is prickly—her insides had prickled up and for the first time in a long time, she isn't sure she wants to talk to him. Without a doubt, she knows she has to, but that won't make the confrontation any less painful.

'This is Mike,' she has to keep reminding herself. 'Not some heartless boy I won't be able to reason with.' Exhaling slowly, she places her hand on the doorknob. 'I'm doing this because we have to work this out.' Her resolve hardens and she opens the door.

He's standing by the steps as she walks out and sends her a small smile that she pretends not to notice as she locks up the cabin. "Pond?" she asks in a flat tone and he nods, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they head off towards the small body of water near the cabin.

Their silence as their feet crunched along the leaves was thick with tension, something she'd never felt between them and she hated it. She hated that she wasn't holding his hand and she hated that he wasn't excitedly telling her about his weekend and she hated that she couldn't think of anything to say, but she bottles all that up and shoves it deep, deep down in an attempt to remain as stoic as she possibly can. Her pride refuses to let him see how much this had affected her and she gives into it, letting it seep into her resolve.

They meander toward the small wooden bench by the edge of the water once they arrive and they plop down on it, not once meeting the other's gaze. The air around them is pulsing with unspoken words, but she stays silent, fidgeting with her sleeve and ignoring the insistent racing of her heart.

He speaks first and she smugly mentally high fives herself for staying strong, only to immediately be ashamed of her prideful attitude.

"Can I ask you something?" he mumbles, his voice hoarse and it breaks her heart. Against her will, her eyes flit up to meet his as she nods, cursing his beautiful brown orbs for sending a jolt of warmth through her. "Have I really been annoying to you for the past three years?" he practically whispers.

With a sigh, she shakes her head. She knew that'd come back to bite her, she knew that would cut him deep. "Then why did you say it?" "I was angry, Mike," she says with enough force to make him raise his eyebrows, but her voice was shaking noticeably. "You haven't been annoying for long...but I'm tired of the voice I thought would've gone away by now." Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him nod as he stares forlornly at the ground. "I hear you, I want you to know that," he says after a beat of silence.

He hesitates after his statement and she catches it, knowing there's more to his words. "But?" she inquires. "But...but I can't believe you let it go on for so long, El." His tone says he's not accusing her, but his words do and she resists the urge to roll her eyes. "I can't believe it became a habit of yours," she says with not as much force as she would've liked.

She watches as his hands clench together and somewhere deep inside her, the intense anger she felt yesterday stirs and she swallows, hard, as if trying to force it back down.

"Look, I know you're upset about that, El. I get it. And we're just going in circles at this point. But please, I just need you to understand that I am going to try my hardest to stop it, I really am, because I realize now that it hurts you," he tells her, placing his hand over hers.

She yanks her hand away, his touch softening her more than she would've liked. She hears what he's saying loud and clear and she appreciates it, she knows it's what he's been saying from the beginning. But something inside of her still doesn't feel right, something is still putting her on edge, making her keep her guard up and she feels like she's waiting for something, something to make this better, because what he just said certainly did not.

"El? Say something, please," he says, his voice trembling. "It has to stop," she whispers, the edge to her words still very much present. "It will, I promise you. You've pointed it out and I know now what I need to change. I'm still not happy that you didn't tell me, but at least you did now, right?"

He's trying to lighten the mood. He's trying to make this better. That's what she wants, right? So why is her throat starting to burn and the tension between them still suffocating her? Not knowing what else to do, she merely nods, blinking back the tears that have sprung out of nowhere. He goes silent after that, shuffling his feet as she tries desperately not to cry, because something is still very wrong, she just can't freaking figure out what it is.

"El?"

She doesn't dare look up at him.

"I'm...I'm really sorry for yelling at you and...and I didn't mean everything I said, so...I'm sorry."

That was it. That tore down the wall she had built and a sob is ripped from her chest as she feels every bit of tension she had held go flying out the window. Every confusing emotion, every ounce of pride, every pinch of anger, it all dissipated like that, leaving in its place a relief that makes her feel lighter than she has since this all began. Without a second thought, she falls against him, burying her face in his shoulder and his arms are around her in an instant as her tears fall thick and fast.

"I'm s-sorry too Mike. I'm sorry for what I said too. I sh-should've listened to you the first time, I know you're trying," she manages to get out as she clutches onto his shirt and presses her forehead against his neck.

"And I'm sorry for overreacting," he admits as he holds her close and she can tell by his voice that he's crying too. "I was such a mouth breather." Her chuckle soon morphs into a sob as she nods her head. "I was too, Mike..."

There's a beat of silence as they both try to collect themselves, clinging to the other desperately, until Mike speaks up again.

"You're impossibly stubborn, El," he tells her quietly, affectionately. "But I love you. So much." She lifts her head to glance up at him as her heart leaps and is quick to wipe away the tears that spill over his lashes. "I love you too. Forgive me?" she timidly asks him, her words small and shaky. He nods his head and her lips curl up into a relieved smile as he murmurs, "Always," before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Will you forgive me too? I said some really, really stupid things," he says earnestly. "Yes," she replies simply, raising a hand to cup his cheek.

He places his hand over hers and gently pulls it down so he can delicately kiss her fingers, his other arm still wrapped around her shoulders. "I missed you, you know...I missed you so much," he tells her, his eyes gleaming bright with a fresh batch of tears. "I know...I missed you too. And..." She looks down sheepishly. "I'm sorry I didn't want to talk to you when you called. This could've ended sooner."

Sure, she'd been so angry when he called, but she couldn't help but notice how much she just wanted to hear his voice. Had she let herself talk to him, they definitely could've been spared from an entire night of pain and agony that she wants to forget as soon as possible. She's kicking herself for turning his call down when he nudges her.

"I think I like ending it this way better," he says with a smile, squeezing her shoulders and she can't help but agree, smiling at how nice it is to be in his arms again. Letting herself fall into his embrace, she sighs as he rests his chin on her head. "Let's never do this again," she mumbles and he chuckles. "I hope it never happens again, too. But...we aren't very good at controlling our tempers, are we?" She shakes her head in agreement with a smile, glad that they're able to acknowledge something that vulnerable between them without it feeling uncomfortable. Heck, she's just glad to have him back without things feeling weird and uncomfortable.

"Promise me something?" "Of course." "We'll always resolve our problems, no matter what." "Promise," he replies without hesitation. "And we'll resolve it right then and there, even if it takes us a while," he adds on and she agrees, knowing how badly the distance between the two of them had hurt, physically and emotionally. She snuggles farther into his chest, sighing contently as they soak in the presence of one another while listening to the water lap at the shore and feeling immensely relieved that they hadn't lost the other for good.

This certainly wasn't the couple's last intense fight, but it was the first and last one that separated them. Things weren't always easy between them, but when they did have a disagreement, they always, always made a point not to abandon each other and there was not one single instance where they didn't talk it out right then and there. And, at the root of every argument, every fight, there was one common theme between them all. They fought because they cared about one another and couldn't bear to let the other go. Because, as they would come to realize, that's what happens when you're completely, totally, irrevocably in love.