44. Midnight

A/N: Something short and super fluffy to tide you over until the next one!

It has been a total of one minute since she turned off the light and El has already decided she can't sleep.

Her boyfriend is one room over and she misses him terribly, despite having spent the whole day together. He usually didn't get to their house until dinner time on Fridays, so it was a surprise when he showed up at their door early that morning and she almost knocked him over with the force of her hug. He'd conveniently forgotten to tell her that he had the day off from school and she was sure she was going to combust from happiness.

She isn't even sure what they did today. She knows they went out to lunch, but the rest of it is a blur of talking and kissing and soaking in every moment they could of being together.

It was magical.

And apparently, she can't get enough of him, because all her thoughts keep darting back to him as soon as she closes her eyes. She huffs and rolls over onto her side, staring into the darkness as she contemplates sneaking into his room for the night. No one would mind, so long as Joyce didn't find out and even then, she wasn't too mad when they'd done it before.

After a few minutes, she's so restless that she sits up and starts to move out of her bed, but the clicking of her doorknob stops her and her heart leaps in her throat. She freezes as the door creaks open and the faint blue hue from the hallway nightlight outlines the figure poking his head in.

"El? Are you asleep?"

She feels her face light up with a grin at the sound of Mike's voice.

"No," she whispers. "Come here?" Her request tilts up into a question and he chuckles, stepping into her room and shutting the door.

The space goes pitch black without the hallway light and she scoots to the far corner of her bed, being careful not to fall off and extends her hands to where she's sure he is. Her fingers brush his arms and he reaches up to clasp her hands. She tugs, moving backward on her knees and she feels the bed dip as he follows her. He lets go of her, his hands and knees pressing into the mattress as he crawls towards the pillows and she scoots back to meet him there.

There's a soft thunk and a quiet "Ow" and she giggles, assuming his head had hit the headboard. She props herself up on her elbow and reaches out blindly until she brushes against his hair.

"Are you okay?" she asks, unable to keep the mirth out of her voice as she cards her fingers through his hair. She hears his content exhale at her actions and she giggles again, taking that as a yes. They sit in blissful silence for a few moments, before she yawns, feeling her eyes growing heavy.

"You ready to sleep?" he whispers and she nods before realizing he can't see her.

"Yes please," she replies and lowers herself down, the bed jostling as he does the same. They don't say much as they get settled and somewhere along the lines, their hands tangle together and she drifts off to his thumb tracing patterns on her skin.

She gasps awake as the sound of a gunshot fades from her consciousness. Her eyes meet nothing but darkness and she feels terror creeping up her throat.

It was Mike, she remembers suddenly, horribly. He got shot.

"Mike," she pleads to no one, hysteria rising quickly.

She can hear her voice shaking as her hands fumble for him and her fingertips brush across his shoulder. She grabs onto it and her movements rouse him from his sleep. He mumbles for a moment, the darkness threatening to swallow the sound back up before his breaths become more intentional and she feels the shape of him tense.

"El?" he murmurs and she releases a gasping breath, because it's still him, he's still there.

His shoulder pushes against her hand, making it slip down to his chest and she realizes he's rising, but to do what she isn't sure.

Her heart claws at her throat and she grabs a fistful of his shirt, anything to anchor her to him blindly.

"Stay," she gasps and the movement stops.

"I was just gonna turn on the light, El."

"I—"

For some reason, she doesn't want to let him go, fearful that if she doesn't keep a hand on him, he'll be lost forever.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asks her softly as the bed dips with his weight again.

She chooses not to reply and instead, traces her hand up his chest, then his neck, and finally, resting her palm against his cheek.

Mike's smart. He knows what that means.

"I'm here, El, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

A hand gently touches her arm and she jumps, before scooting closer to him, her legs pressing up against his strong ones. His hand skims up her forearm and tentatively makes its way to her back, his palm splayed lightly against it. She shivers and rests her forehead against his chest, hands curled around the fabric of his shirt.

"Mike?"

"Mmhm?"

"Tell me something good."

She's lost track of how many times she's made that request in the past four months. During a thunderstorm or after a rough day, she asked him the same thing, needing his voice to mend the cracks that formed in her soul.

She hears him clear his throat and she burrows deeper into him.

"You're really beautiful."

She melts, her insides growing all warm as she feels her cheeks heat up. He hasn't said that to her in a while and his voice is low and sincere and she's going to dissolve into a puddle of love.

"I'm—I'm sorry I don't say it as often as I should," he continues. "I guess I'm just—afraid of overstepping my boundaries."

"You used to say it all the time," she replies quietly, trying to keep the sad notes out of her voice because she's not upset with him. They've been through a lot, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss it.

"I know, I know," he says dejectedly. "You deserve to hear it every day, El. But I—I don't know, I overthink things too much. I'm afraid of hurting you, you know? You've already been hurt enough."

"Why would that hurt me?" she asks quietly, furrowing her brow.

She feels Mike shrug and he takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, the air tickling the top of her head and she bites her lip to keep from giggling.

"I just don't want to overstep anything," he repeats. "I never stopped thinking that, by the way, how beautiful you are. You've just been so overwhelmed with everything the past couple of months and I didn't want to be overbearing, I guess. It's stupid, I'm sorry. I'll be better."

His explanation is sincere and while she's still not sure why he thought his love was a hindrance, she knows the thought wasn't born out of spite for her. She does wish that he told her more, not so much to boost her confidence but to reverse the lingering damage the lab had placed on her. One day, she just knows it, she'll see herself as strong and beautiful and she knows Mike will have played a huge hand in getting her from science experiment to a fierce, stunning young woman.

For now though, she pulls back just a little and lazily traces a line up his jaw and across his cheek to boop his nose, lightening the mood because it's two in the morning and she loves this idiot.

"You can't even see me, how do you know I'm still beautiful?" she says teasingly and he chuckles nervously and she just knows he's blushing.

"I know your voice. And your voice is beautiful, so—" he responds lightly and she's grinning so wide her cheeks hurt. She goes to place a kiss on the tip of his nose and it lands somewhere on his cheekbone, his skin heating up even more at her touch.

She snuggles back into his chest and he pulls her closer, sighing contently. The world goes warm and fuzzy as they begin to drift off again and a thought occurs to her before she falls asleep.

"I think you're beautiful too, Mike," she whispers.

He huffs out a laugh.

"Guys aren't supposed to be beautiful, El."

She hums.

"Neither was I."