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It's quiet and warm here. It's raining, just like the first night she spent in this place, but it's a calming sound now, and she isn't afraid. Like last time, nobody knows that she’s hidden away here, under the table, in the dim orange lamp light glowing softly through the draped bed sheets. But it’s safe now. And Mike is here. He’s sitting with her, against the wall, beneath the makeshift tent, and she is curled up next to him, enveloped in his warmth. Soft fingertips trace up and down her arm. She can feel his heartbeat against her cheek. El had spent almost a year wanting nothing more than to be here, like this, with him. Safe.
He swallows and says softly, as though he had been thinking the same thoughts, "I really missed you."
El sits up to meet his eyes. They're such a pretty shade of brown, shining beneath long dark eyelashes, so gentle and sincere... There's a particular sort of softness in Mike's eyes that he's reserved just for when he looks at her. Seeing him through a psychic link is nothing compared to seeing the lovely expression on his face when they are together in person. She murmurs in reply, "I missed you, too."
His eyes flicker across her face. She senses his heartbeat quicken slightly. In a shy, hesitant whisper, Mike asks, "Can... can I kiss you?"
El isn't quite sure why he's asking her permission this time. Can't he tell how much she always wants him to kiss her? Her mouth curls into a little smile. "Yes."
So he does. It's a gentle, quiet sort of kiss. His lips are feather-light against hers, careful and slow as if she'd disappear if he pressed too close. It's a nice kiss, but she can feel how nervous he is; his heart is pounding so loud, the hand that's resting on her shoulder twitches as though he's trying to hold back and be still. It's odd, because Mike is usually comfortable to be this close to her. Why is now any different?
El leans in closer, kissing him back more firmly. She reaches one hand up to caress his cheek reassuringly. This helps Mike relax a bit. He angles his head to one side, leaning into her touch and allowing her to deepen the kiss. He's still tense and barely holding her, though... Why won’t he hold her...
El remembers the night at the cabin, when he brought her the bracelet and first said "I love you", and when she had last kissed him like this. In that moment they had simply been following instinct, flying into a passionate something without forethought, and it had been so exciting and addicting... That same gut instinct is sparking up again now; begging, closer, more, more. She had taken Mike by surprise that night, though. He melted and let it happen until something snapped him back to reality, and he asked her to stop... And now he is so hesitant to reciprocate...
She should stop now. She can't push him like that again. Though her body is alive and tingling and wanting to kiss him like this forever, she wouldn't dare do that to Mike if he didn't want her to. He is warm and his lips are soft and the little breathy sounds they both make are music to her ears. But she pulls away.
He hurriedly lets go of her and blinks his eyes back into focus. "Wh-- what's wrong?"
El ducks her head in shame. "I... want to kiss you... more..." And you didn't like that last time...
Somehow this makes all the uneasy tension wound up inside Mike simply fall away, though. With a hopeful tone, he says, "You do?"
She shakes her head, shrinking in on herself and hugging her arms, "But last time you said 'stop', more was too much... I scared you..."
Mike's entire body relaxes and he lets out a short, relieved laugh. "El, it's okay. That was one time... I was just... nervous, okay? It wasn't your fault. Hey," he takes her hand and leans close again to murmur, "I'm not afraid of you."
A warm glow comes back to her cheeks. She looks up at him, eyes shimmering with curiosity and adoration, and Mike is internally punching himself for inadvertently convincing her that he would reject her affections. "You can... y’know... do whatever, anything you like..." his voice wavers awkwardly. But he takes a deep breath and digs up some confidence. "I... want you to."
She watches as he guides her hand up to his face again. He presses her palm to his cheek and strokes the back of her hand with his thumb, his eyes steadily locked on her. When she still glances away, unsure, he says quietly, “It’s alright. If I want us to stop I’ll tell you, okay?”
She meets his gaze. “Promise?”
He smiles. “Yeah, I promise. And... you’ll tell me, too, yeah? I-if you... get scared or nervous? ‘Cause it’s totally okay. You promise, too?”
She nods. “I promise.” His other hand cups the side of her jaw and gently coaxes her to relax.
“El." He says her name so softly, like a secret he keeps hidden deep in his heart.
"Yes?" El replies.
“I love you.”
Subconsciously she's leaning into his hand. Her eyelids flutter closed; she puts her trust in him completely. "Mike..." she whispers it in the same quiet, reverent tone. "I love you, too."
His lips connect with hers again, and this time he isn't stiff; he isn't holding back. It wasn't fear and aversion he was holding back, either. El is nearly overtaken by the crushing wave of emotion that comes with this kiss. Admiration, protectiveness, devotion, everything that "I love you" means, all flowing into her through his every touch. She gasps, the intensity overwhelming her senses for a moment. So much, so much, he loves her so much and it’s soft and caring but also so wild, like his heart’s been locked away in a cage and it’s finally bursting free... A kind of buzz stirs in her stomach, like the fight or flight response that she's very familiar with, but it's different; it isn’t a need to get away, it's an urgent need to get closer. Mike must also be feeling something similar, because his hands tug on her waist and the back of her neck, he's pulling her into his arms and the movement of his mouth on hers speeds up to match their hammering heartbeats. Their knees bump awkwardly for a second, so Mike shifts around, trying to find a better sitting position that allows for the closeness but isn't invasive. El doesn't retain patience for very long, though, and just climbs up into Mike's lap instead. His breath hitches. El pauses, unsure about that reaction... But then he blinks open his eyes to gaze up at her, pupils blown so wide she can't distinguish black from brown, and they're practically shimmering. He's looking at her like she's a sparkling constellation, the most perfect arrangement of lights strung out across the sky; his hands slide reverently up her sides, so gentle and feather light... Barely there, but not because he's avoiding contact, not because he's afraid of touching her like so many others seem to be... the touch is comforting, trusting, wanting, overflowing with affection that's long overdue. It feels right.
El cradles his face tenderly in her hands as she leans down to kiss him again, and she soon finds her fingers sliding up into his dark hair. Without thinking she snatches a fistful and tugs. Mike's head falls back and his jaw drops slack and a fascinating sound escapes his throat, something like a squeak or a whimper or a sigh, or something in between all three. She dives down again to catch the pretty little noise with her lips. Mike's pulse has skyrocketed. The hands at her waist clench restlessly around the fabric of her shirt, then he lets go to wind his arms around her middle and pull her up onto her knees, hugging her tight to his chest. The angle makes it difficult to continue kissing, to El's momentary disappointment, and she whines quietly when he breaks away. But then his mouth presses into the underside of her jaw and trails down her neck, and warmth blooms across her skin in each new place he bestows a kiss.
Oh.
El hiccups suddenly, involuntarily mimicking that sound Mike had made before. Kissing that isn't just lips? What a remarkable and exciting discovery... Everyone always said that a kiss on the lips is the absolute highest form, reserved only for one person, like a friend but more special. She’s told that other types of kisses among friends or family— on the cheek, or forehead, or hand— still count as affection, but they don’t hold the same meaning. But this ... this feels even bigger, more powerful, more intimate and secret, like this sensation is meant only for her and Mike in this moment. It never occurred to her that a kiss anywhere else but on the lips could be that special, let alone surpass it. Does it feel that good for him, too? She’s suddenly blazing with determination; she wants to give him as much of this new feeling as possible, she must, she loves him and he deserves to feel good like this...
Eager to test the new boundary, she slides back down to settle on his thighs so she can reach the same places he had kissed her. Her mind faintly registers the fact that her kisses are harder and more hurried than his were, so it’s not an even exchange, but it doesn’t matter, they’re hers to give. And she wants to scatter them across every inch of him.
And Mike said he wants her to.
A wave of heat splashes over her suddenly. Once again she does something without thinking. Right where his neck meets his shoulder, just above the collar of his t-shirt, her teeth suddenly latch onto his flesh. Gentle enough to avoid breaking the skin, but strong enough to have a firm hold on that one tender spot so that she isn’t shaken off by the shuddering tremor that jolts through the beautiful boy in her arms. He turns his head to bury his face in her loose curls, muffling another whimpering sigh. El pulls her mouth away with a loud, wet smack, leaving behind a swelling red mark on his pale skin. She stares at the forming bruise, the indentations her teeth had made, worry suddenly dawning on her as an afterthought. “Did I hurt you?”
He grasps helplessly at her thighs, which are pressed firmly on either side of his hips, like a clamp holding him in place beneath her. “Mmh... no, ‘s okay... ‘s good...” he breathes, tickling the hairs curling around her ear.
That’s enough confirmation for her; still, she focuses on being gentler, slowing from a frantic onslaught of possessive pecks to lazily trailing her lips up and down the side of his neck instead. He hisses a bit when she reaches the bite mark. El pays extra attention there, soothing and massaging the darkening spot with her mouth, lightly prodding at it with the tip of her tongue. It must’ve been the right thing to do, because it sure is having an effect; Mike whines softly, almost like he’s in pain but... in a good way.
“Mm...more?” she asks in a dizzy, breathy murmur against his skin. She isn’t sure exactly if she’s asking if he wants more, or if she herself is asking for more. Either way the answer is clearly yes—
A sudden, frightfully loud crash of thunder shakes through the air, and they both jolt back to reality; El sucks in a sharp breath and Mike lets out a startled shout. Everything freezes for a moment. When their hearts recover and begin beating again, El exhales and drops her forehead onto his shoulder.
He chuckles awkwardly, still panting. “Jeez... you’re not controlling the lightning, are you?” He’s joking, of course, but she still lifts her head and worriedly considers it... She’s gained much more precise control over her abilities over the past year, but she’s been known to involuntarily direct some enormous swells of energy in response to particularly strong emotions... So it’s a possibility.
Mike’s fingers card gently through her curls, interrupting her train of thought. “We’re safe here,” he soothes, “It’s okay.”
“Safe...” she whispers hoarsely, focusing back on his hands in her hair. She loves the way his hands feel... Any kind of touch feels safe and nice if it’s Mike.
“Yeah,” he reaffirms softly. “Do you... wanna stop for now?”
She doesn’t, really, but the abrupt noise had thrown quite a wrench in their momentum. She’s not quite sure where this little exploration was even going, anyway, but she certainly feels like she should get there eventually. Mike seems more wary of that destination... Perhaps because he knows more about it than she does. It would be only fair to match his pace, and probably smarter, too. Safer. El nods.
“You sure?”
“Yes...” her voice has gotten very small all of a sudden. She sinks into his chest and asks, “Hold me?”
Mike’s heartbeat flutters. He’s perfectly happy to oblige. “Of course.”