It turned out that El was well aware of the idea of boyfriend-girlfriend. Mike's assumptions had been, as usual, completely ridiculous.

"I wasn't sure who was supposed to ask about it," she'd confessed a few days after the incident with the seniors, when Mike finally plucked up the courage to tell her about the interaction with Susannah.

"I know I said there was no such thing as normal," he'd told her. "But I think I'm the one who was supposed to ask."

So he did.

It felt silly, because to Mike, the moment she'd revealed her powers to him that day in the AV room and he'd promised to protect her, he'd been hers. And even though he thought he lost her, the moment she came rushing down that gravel path to his rescue, he was hers again. Being together felt so intuitive, so right, that crossing over into the territory of labels and roles didn't feel necessary. But it was another way for Mike to ensure El knew how much he wanted to be with her.

He wanted to be hers in every way - the person she turned to instinctively, the one she wanted to share everything with. If he knew nothing else, he knew that. It helped that El smiled and nodded enthusiastically at the idea. Before she could even get the question out, she'd ended up flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

Telling the rest of the party about El's powers had been a minefield, especially after the adrenaline-fuelled encounter with the seniors.

Lucas, for example, was furious that they didn't tell him what happened at Jennifer's party - not because Will had been the first to know something was up, but because they'd violated a pillar of party code: 'When a party member is in need of assistance, all members must ban together to help them.'

Lucas, a stickler for the rules, but always the first to have your back.

Dustin, on the other hand, had relentlessly peppered El with questions about her powers: how she got them, what she could do, if she could kill people. Good natured as they were, he'd encroached on things that El obviously wasn't comfortable talking about yet, things about the lab that she hadn't even told Mike.

Dustin, forever curious, always the first to remind his friends how awesome and cool they were.

Will had been the one to step in then. He'd listened quietly the whole time, not asking anything, gently suggesting that perhaps El was tired, and that he was sure she'd tell them the full story one day soon.

Will the Wise, who never failed to gracefully bring everyone back down to reality.

The relief Mike felt when the truth was finally out was palpable. His friends had instantly waved off his confessions about feeling like he'd betrayed them for keeping El's secret.

"You were protective of her from day one," Lucas had said.

El had looked up at him in wonder at that, wearing that beautiful smile, and Mike blushed but didn't protest, because it was true.

He'd wanted to know her, and when he knew her, he wanted to protect her - an instinct he could never shake, even when he saw firsthand that she was more powerful than he could ever be and didn't need him to save her. After that night at Jennifer's party, after losing El, he thought he'd failed. It took her coming back and risking everything to save him and the party for Mike to realize that you can never really protect the people you love.

You can try. But the only thing you can really do, that you can be sure of, is love them.

God, you can love them.

A few weeks later, everything had fallen into a somewhat normal rhythm. El was back at school and catching up with her classes. She'd started to show Mike some of her pieces from art class, including the drawing of the bike, which she let him keep.

He'd taped it to the wall beside his bed, so it was the first thing he saw every morning.

It was nearly December and finally too cold to bike, so they didn't have the luxury of long rides to the cabin after school anymore, a guaranteed amount of alone time they both cherished.

So Mike, having reprised his role as AV room setup person, decided that Wednesdays at lunch would be for him and El.

He'd take her with him to get the keys and then they'd go to the room, trying to ignore the awkward wink Barry gave Mike each time. She'd bring some homework, or sit and fold paper cranes, or help Mike with his duties. Sometimes they talked nonstop, sharing stories and laughing and teasing each other. Sometimes they settled into a comfortable silence, both relieved and happy to just be in one another's presence. Sometimes they kissed.

Okay, they kissed way more often than sometimes. If it were up to Mike, and evidently El, too, they'd spend the whole time kissing. But Mike was always careful not to let it get too carried away, otherwise he knew he'd never get anything done, and then his friends would tease him even further about what exactly he'd spent the AV club prep time doing.

It was also because Mike was sometimes afraid of how much he felt for El, how much being close to her made him lose all sense of himself. The feeling wasn't bad or scary in the true sense of the word, it was just… so much. It made his heart pound and his chest ache even when he wasn't with her, the familiar I love you I love you I love you clanging louder each time they were together.

He hadn't figured out a way to say it yet, still grappling with how he was going to keep it together and not sound like a total idiot. For now, he tried to pour everything he felt into their kisses, always hugging her close, smiling against her mouth because he couldn't help it. Which was why it was so hard to resist spending their entire time in the AV room doing it.

This was one of those times.

They were seated at the edge of the main desk, Mike tinkering away at one of the soundboards, El sitting with a textbook open on her lap. She had her feet propped up on a chair and was twirling a finger lazily in her hair, which Mike found oddly distracting. He kept glancing up at her, trying and failing not to stare.

God, she's beautiful.

"Mike?"

"Mm?" he responded, trying to sound casual as he looked back down at the soundboard. He uselessly fiddled with one of the loose dials.

"I have to tell you something," El said.

Mike froze, a familiar sense of dread creeping through him. "Okay," he replied, trying to hide the worry in his voice.

She took her feet off the chair and closed the textbook, placing it on the desk. Scooting closer, she kept her eyes on him. "But I'm... I'm scared," she said, her voice dropping to a murmur.

Now that he knew a little more about her past, that didn't surprise Mike. A lot of awful things happened to her in the lab that she was scared to talk about, so Mike made sure not to ask too many questions. They only talked about it when she brought it up, always as a way for her to get something off her chest - like the more she spoke about the horror, the more manageable it became. Mike always listened, doing his best to breathe and still his shaking hands. Sometimes he could hardly bear to hear it, to think about her in pain and alone and suffering.

"It's okay El, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," he said, placing his hand over hers.

"No - no I want to," she said quickly, "I just - I don't know what you'll say."

"Well I mean, you've heard me ramble. Most of the time I don't even know what the hell I'm about to say," Mike replied, trying to lighten the mood a little. She looked nervous.

"I know, but usually I can tell what you're thinking."

"Oh really? So you're a mind reader too?" he said, grinning at her.

She leaned toward him and placed a hand on his forehead, gently brushing some of his hair out of the way. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"No, but I like to think I know what's going on in there," she said, tapping her fingers a little. He laughed.

She pulled her hand away and Mike opened his eyes. She still looked nervous, but there was something else in her eyes he couldn't quite place.

"What is it, El?"

In a sudden movement, she got off her chair and ambled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Surprised, he stopped what he was doing, encircling her waist so she was secure. Though it didn't have the same effect it had at Jennifer's party - they sat like that sometimes in the AV room, when they were both focused on different things but wanted to be close - he was still taken aback.

It wasn't that El didn't show affection. The frequent kisses and handholding and general closeness were enough evidence. But she was always very careful, like she was afraid of doing something incorrectly. Mike did his best to reassure her that she was doing just fine - he was still learning too, after all.

She leaned her head down to rest on his shoulder. Mike thought he could feel her heart beating, but it could've just been his own, which, like always, had started to race the moment she came close to him.

Her cheek was against his collarbone and he waited, thinking maybe she'd changed her mind about telling him anything.

But then.

"I love you," she said quietly.

He could feel her exhale against his skin, her whole body relaxing into their embrace.

She seemed to be catching her breath, but Mike had lost his. His mouth went dry, and the pace of his heartbeat became even more erratic. That was the last thing he expected her to say.

Thoughts flew through his mind, and the first one that stood out was how he'd been a complete moron for assuming she wouldn't understand the gravity of those words.

The way she said them – so deliberate – the way she pulled him close... she knew, and she was careful with them. How could he have been so stupid?

El's head moved back, snapping him out of his reverie. There was a timid fear in her eyes – but this time he knew where it was coming from, and how to fix it.

"I love you too," he told her. "I love you, El," he said again; both so that she would be certain, and so Mike could make sure the words were really out loud and not in his head.

She rested her head back against his shoulder and for a while they stayed like that, holding each other. The air in the room had entirely changed. It was now blanketed with a heavy feeling, a marker of importance; like if something shifted, it would break the spell.

To his surprise again, it was El who moved first. She pulled back to look at him, bringing her hands down to rest against his chest. Mike didn't let go of her. He felt like he couldn't even if he wanted to.

"I didn't know the words," she told him, answering the question still in the back of his head. She's a mind reader after all. "Well I did, but… not all the way."

"But being with you… I knew what it was," she continued. "So I paid attention to people when they said it - why, how. And I read, like always."

The nervousness from before had been replaced with a boldness in her eyes, something Mike hadn't seen since the day she first showed him her powers.

"I knew, I did," she insisted, "It was there I just… had to find the words." She looked away then. "The only thing I didn't know was if you would want to say it to me, too."

Mike lifted both hands to cup her face, suddenly desperate.

"No El, no - of course I wanted to say it. I've been thinking about it for - God, for so long, I just - I didn't know how you'd react, or... if you felt the same."

She frowned. "Did I not show you enough?"

Coming from anyone else, it would've sounded accusatory. But Mike knew El meant it as a question, wondering if she'd done something wrong or not done something she should have.

"You did El, you do," he said, rushing to reassure her. "I was, I don't know..."

"Scared?"

"Yeah, scared."

She placed one of her hands over his. "Don't be scared. I love you."

She was right. There was nothing to be afraid of, not anymore. And if there was, they'd figure it out together. They'd protect each other, like always.

Unable to find words, Mike kissed her. She kissed him back, hard, and he could feel the boldness that had been in her eyes earlier. Normally it took them a second to adjust, to figure out the pace of things. Not this time.

This time, they knew.

That's it that's all, folks! *cries*

Thank you SO much to everyone to read and took the time to comment on this fic, especially OfPencilsAndPenguins - your comments made my day and the fact that you left such lengthy detailed remarks really made me feel special!

I'll be posting a oneshot soon as part of the Summer series that some of the wonderful writers in this fandom have going on both here and on Tumblr, so keep an eye out for that!

In the meantime, if you'd like to say hello, please feel free to on Tumblr writer-lia. And please send Mileven prompts if you have some! I haven't received any yet and I'd love to do some cute little drabbles if inspiration hits.

Thank you all SO much from the bottom of my heart! 3