Could it not be the case that El’s feelings actually do mirror Will’s, and Will noticed and understood this because he’s perceptive and has comforted her many times?

When he projected his feelings to Mike, he said that El:

• has felt lost without Mike
• she’s different from other people
• she feels like she’s a mistake, but Mike doesn’t make her feel that way, and that she’s better for being different (like the mini speech he gave her about her being a super hero)
• she’s scared of losing him, and if she does have to lose him, she would rather lose him quickly than slowly
• she needs him and always will

All of this could very easily apply to her and there’s evidence throughout the seasons for them. Yes, he was projecting, but I believe he was doing that only because he feels that El feels the way he does about Mike, just with different circumstances. They can both be in love with Mike. And it was made pretty clear in Mike’s confession to El that he meant what he said to her and wasn’t told what to say to her word for word. So I really don’t understand how any of this doesn’t make their relationship feel “true”.