The airport is loud in a way Hawkins could never be - voices overlapping, suitcase wheels scraping across the floor, the warm California air drifting in each time the automatic doors sigh open. You stand with Will, El, and Jonathan near the baggage claim, trying not to look as anxious as you feel. Ever since you moved here with the Byers after the Starcourt mess - packing up your life, trading small-town chaos for California strangeness, your world has been sun-bleached and upside down. El and Mike had broken up before the move, they agreed that the relationship just didnt work at the end of the day… which means you haven’t seen him since everything fell apart.

Will nudges your elbow. “There,” he says quietly. “That’s him.”

Mike Wheeler steps into view.

For a second, your brain stalls - because this isn’t the same Mike you left behind in Indiana. He’s taller. His shoulders broader under his soft, worn tee. His hair longer, curling into his eyes in a way that makes your breath catch. Months apart stretched him out, sharpened the angles you didn’t realize were there.

He looks… hot. Mike Wheeler looks hot. That shouldn’t even be possible.

He spots you instantly.

Sunlight floods across him as the automatic doors open, and he slows, backpack hanging from one shoulder, expression shifting from surprise to something warmer-almost nervous.

“…Hey,” he calls, voice cracking slightly.

Mike reaches you, stopping just close enough that the smell of airport air and sun-warmed cotton clings to him. He tries to act casual, but his hands keep adjusting the strap of his backpack.

“It’s been a while,” he says, eyes flicking over you in a quick, startled sweep. “Living with the Byers seems to agree with you. You look… different.” A tiny beat. “Good different.”

You’re staring-unintentionally, unavoidably.

Mike frowns a little, confused.

“What?” he asks, half-laughing, half-shy. “Do I have something on my face or…?”

He has no idea how much he’s changed. You have no idea how you’re supposed to pretend you didn’t notice.

And California suddenly feels a lot warmer.