i'll be your alibi tonight, i'll make everything all right (rp for onze)

[still_the_dm]

It was a little bit amazing when they got to the house and Mike got to take a look at El's treehouse apartment. It was an incredible piece of work, the kind of thing that the party had always dreamed of having except for the fact that Mike's dad couldn't be bothered and he was too old by the time Step-Chad came along, Dustin's and Lucas's yards didn't have any decent trees, and Johnathan was always working too much.

And according to El, she'd had this treehouse since she first showed up, and it had only gotten better. In the parent/grandparent lottery, she'd frickin' scored.

The only disappointment was that El would be sleeping out there his first night in town (she slept up there in cycles, according to the guy at dinner who was too damn young looking to be her grandpa), and he'd be in the guest room.

In the house. With her dad.

Alone.

Mike actually managed to not be terribly intimidated to the point of getting drowsy when the lock on the guest bedroom door quietly slid open, and El's big, dark eyes appeared around the edge of said door with a meek and questioning look that Mike remembered well.

All they did was talk, and not even about anything in particular. Sitting across from each other on the bed, cross legged and knees touching, Mike told her about everything from the course of Nancy and Johnathan's relationship to Dustin's first girlfriend, right down to every D&D campaign he'd run since she left. Somehow, they packed five years into one night, and at the end of it they were stretched out in bed, facing each other and still whispering in the dark.

Yet somehow, he was still surprised when he slowly came awake in the morning with a mop of dark hair shot through with rainbows shoved right in his face, filling his lungs with the smell of some kind of flowery, clean shampoo and the cotton of the pillowcase.

She was still there. Spooned back against his chest, his face in her hair...she'd even somehow managed to fling a leg backwards and hook her foot around his calf, meaning he couldn't move without waking her.

Once he slid a glance at the door and realized she must have TK-ed the lock back into place during the night, Mike contented himself with burrowing back in to sleep some more...and when he couldn't drift off again, instead ran his fingers through her hair, idly weaving the dyed underside of her hair into one tiny, brightly colored braid after another.

Comments

[onze]

El will admit to very few that there are some phobias and fears she's just not over. Being trapped, feeling like she can't get free of something, that's one of them. But when Mike holds her close, arms wrapped around her as tight as they were, El relaxes into them. Into him and the way he kisses her.

That was just a show of how much she trusted Mike. There was no panic or need to get out of the hold. Quite the opposite. She wanted to stay in his arms, exactly how he held her so when his arms relaxed, it was a few seconds before she pulled his arms around her again, still kissing him just as much as he was kissing her.

[still_the_dm]

When El reached out to settle his arms securely around her wait again, something in Mike sort of broke and melted, gleeful and awed at the same time as he obliged her, pulling her close...but backing away a little from the counter at the same time.

He wasn't going to push his luck, or her comfort boundaries.

If she didn't mind him holding her, though--that was fine. He liked holding her, tight, too...loved holding her, loved kissing her--shit, how could she kiss like this if she'd never kissed anyone else before? It boggled his mind...it made him wonder if it was just him that brought this out in her.

And that made him feel like doing something ridiculous, like howling at the moon.

"Dad's...gone...an hour, huh?" he got out between kisses, backing up until he felt the kitchen table against the back of his legs. It seemed sturdy enough, so he shifted to sit on the edge, pulling El to stand between his knees so he could hitch her close and kiss her again.

[onze]

it probably was just him that brought all of this out of her. She had no experience with any of this and was going on pure instinct, following his lead. Letting herself just react to what Mike was doing and enjoying every second of this. She walked with him when he backed up, smirking and wrapping her arms around his shoulders again, kissing him and running her fingers through his hair.

She doesn't answer his question right away, still lost in kissing him before finally managing a reply.

"Uh huh. An...hour or s...so." All between kisses.

[still_the_dm]

That got a smile out of Mike, mouth curling against hers...but he knew he had to be careful, maybe even stop, because this was Eleven. There were things--a lot of things--she didn't know, and asking what they were just a little while ago was proof of that.

Groaning at himself in his own head, Mike gave himself five more seconds to just enjoy kissing her, then broke away just enough to rest his forehead against hers, staying close but giving himself enough room to breathe, to think.

"You know," he began, still kind of breathless, "if we're boyfriend and girlfriend? There are...other things. We can do--besides kissing, I mean. But only if you want to. So..."

This was not a conversation he could have. Not right now, he wasn't sure ever. In the past, he just showed her and that was okay, but...that was just a kiss.

"I can show you. Sometimes." he finished, tugging her a little closer. "Just--if I do something you don't want, or you feel weird about? Punch me in the shoulder as hard as you can. So I get the message. Guys can get kind of stupid when there's kissing and...other stuff involved. Okay?"

[onze]

El didn't want to stop kissing him, but she was also glad for the chance to breathe. Kissing her boyfriend was fantastic and everything she could imagine, but her heart was thudding in her ears and she knew she should probably slow herself down some, try to ignore that buzzing under her skin that wanted more of his touch. So at his offer to show her more, she has to stop and think. Really, really think. Eyes closed, nose brushing his.

She almost smiles at what he suggests, a faint huff of amusement at the whole punch him in the shoulder thing. She trusts him. Completely and irrevocably. And she wants a bit more. Just a bit.

"Uh..." Brain, work. Please. For once. Just work. "Take it slow? I'll stop you if it gets to be too much." She promises.

[still_the_dm]

That unspoken promise is one he can hear, and it makes him smile as he tugs her a little closer. He hesitates for a second, thinking about what that means, what he could do, what he should do...and finally leans in to kiss her again. Jesus, kissing her is awesome, every time it's like he's kissing her for the first time but better.

He leaves his hands on her hips, but after a couple of moments he settles on letting one slide up and around, under her shirt to spread his fingers against her bare back...and it's nice, it's really nice. Her skin is warm and soft, and his thumb brushes back and forth at the place in the middle of her back where skin dips against her spine, drawn by that silky little valley his fingers can't resist.

No higher, no lower. He just...touches.

And waits to see how she reacts.

[onze]

Her reaction is positive and not quite as subtle as it could be. It's an arched back and that same soft noise she made that prompted him to kiss her the first time, a soft, quick sigh against his lips before she's kissing him more. His skin is a bit rough, but the touch is gentle and cautious. It's how he's always been with her and even if she isn't that small, terrified child anymore, she still appreciates his behavior.


It's why she's so happy to just keep kissing him and learning what is okay for them to do.

She follows his lead, one hand very, very tentatively slipping under his shirt and resting on his side.

Well! She sure can see why he likes this. His skin is warm, muscles underneath solid. Her arm slides around his back, not quite doing the same thing he's doing, just enjoying the skin-to-skin contact and having him as close as she could.

[still_the_dm]

Mike couldn't stop the sound he made when El's hand slid under his shirt to find bare skin, something between a quiet little groan and a growl against her mouth. Her fingers were small and soft, but strangely powerful as they pressed into his side and his back...and it felt great.

The way she just sort of burrowed in closer rather than pushing any further, though, was another reminder that he had to be careful, take his time...and yet the hand that wasn't under her shirt started creeping a little lower, staying above clothes and just getting ready to smooth over her ass--

Right as her cell phone started ringing, her father's ringtone only just audible from the kitchen.

[onze]

The hand sliding down her back caused her to tense up some, just briefly. It wasn't that she didn't want the hand to move and explore, it was just a bit startling. She didn't mind it, really. So she kept kissing, shifting some to keep the contact between her and him. She could not get enough of the feeling.

She wasn't going to discourage him from what he was doing. he hadn't hit anything that made her uncomfortable.

However, the phone ringing started her because it was her dads voice, floating down the hall from her room. So she pulls away with an apologetic and reluctant look, hurrying down the hall to her room and picking up the phone.

"Epicenter of your universe, Onze speaking."

...yes, that is how she answers the phone when t's her dad calling. What of it?

As she speaks, she heads back to where Mike is, still looking a combination of alarmed and apologetic and boy is her face red, like they'd been walked in on.

[still_the_dm]

Mike lets her go, and tries to collect himself--as well as the heart that leaped out of his chest at some point--while Rocky cheerfully addresses El on the phone.

"Hey, cub! Just got done at the mechanic...I muscled those grease monkeys into picking up the pace, they were slow walking me." he singsonged cheerfully. "Just wanted to know if you want me to pick up anything for breakfast on the way home."

There's a beat, then just as cheerfully...

"Like a shotgun for anyone that might be putting their hands on my daughter?..."

Meanwhile, Mike just moves over to El and wraps his arms around her from behind, resting his chin atop her head as he tucks her securely back against his chest while she talks to her dad.

And prays he doesn't have the kind of father superpowers that let him know Mike is holding her, even when they're just on the phone.

[onze]

The arms around her waist are welcome, her hand going over his as she laced their fingers together. She was very happy in those arms and wanted to stay in them, but considering how the conversation with her dad was going, it wasn't plausible.

He was due home soon.

"Did they actually fix the car this time? Because the last mechanic wasn't trustworthy and I'm really hoping I can take Fiona at her word that the guys we took my car to this time actually know what they're doing."

She turns slightly to smile at Mike. He's within kissing distance, but her dad is on the phone, so that'd be a no go at this station. Still, he was gorgeous and he was hers and she was probably falling for him, so she could smile at him just like this and be happy.

But then the look on her face shifts to one that says 'jesus on toast why' and she replies to his next comment with "Dad. No."

Dads. Jesus.

"We're going to Still Waters and then I'm showing him around town. We're good for breakfast. Thank you, though. We do need dish soap. And coffee. Just in general, though."

[still_the_dm]

"You sure? The shotgun's an easy thing..." Rocky assured her, a deliberately wistful note in his voice while Mike just watched El's face and couldn't quite stifle a laugh as he pressed his nose against her temple.

It was a snort of laughter Rocky heard, making him scowl in a manner that bled into his voice.

"Is that him? Is he...doing stuff I can kill him for?"

Oh, it is not a pleasant place in Rock Devereaux's brain right now...

[onze]

"He laughed, dad. He was laughing about something completely innocent. It's perfectly fine. Is my car shiny and really for real fixed this time?"

This is the cars third trip to the mechanic. Second mechanic. This whole Is It Isn't It routine with her car is getting so old.