tea stained newpapers. mileven au.

twenty five.

but truth be told, he was only acting this way because he was with her.

she seemed like someone to appreciate the cheesy gesture.

"celebrate?" the small girl raised her brows, adjusting her weight and letting go of his body so they could have enough room to set up their drinks.

"your existence." the lanky boy responded sarcastically as he pushed his thumbs against the cork at the top of the bottle, signaling a loud popping noise around them and earning himself the prettiest laugh in the process, "i'm kidding, i actually brought it so you would loosen up and tell me all your dirty secrets."

"you know you aren't funny" el pushed her shoulder against his, biting the inside of her cheek in order to hold back the rest of her giggles. she watched as he poured the glittery substance into their cups, the writer trying his best to focus on not overfilling them rather than her intense gaze.

it was odd to see her so interested in him. in all seriousness, even after she confided her feelings to him, he still found it unbearably hard to believe that someone like her would even spare him a second glance... let alone a second chance after how dramatic he acted these past three weeks.

but their time together wasn't over just yet and like he promised back in that tiny makeshift space she calls her studio, he was planning on making sure it was never going to run out.

because he was hers. even if that portion of their relationship hadn't been said out loud at this very moment.

"clearly, i'm hilarious eleanor." the freckled faced boy pointed out, taking it upon himself to squeeze the top of her knee before handing her a cup of the sparkling liquid.

"ew gross, that's more insulting than you calling me sweetheart. stick to sweet, it's more appealing." the brunette scrunched her nose, smiling before bringing the cup to her lips and taking a small sip, "besides if you wanted to know all my secrets all you have to do is ask."

he studied her for a second, allowing his eyes to watch as the wind passed through the tiny stands of honey hair that framed her face or how the butterflies at the bottom of her tiny hoop earrings swayed with each of her movements. she seemed happier these days, probably happier than he had ever seen her before. it was as if she was glowing an aura that was a vibrant shade of sunshine gold, soft yet still so bright.

and mike wheeler would do anything to make sure that color never died.

truly he didn't realize he was taking so long to respond, he almost jumped when she spoke again, her gentle vocal cords producing the kindest tone to ever exist, "you can ask."

he would be lying if he said there weren't a million things the writer wanted to ask the tiny artist he calls his sweet. all questions that included the smallest, probably seemingly insignificant little facts about why she acted the way she did or about why she liked the things she liked.

though, there was still one particular question that had been circulating his mind over and over again since he sat in front of her at that dining room table a few days ago. a question that he knew would make her visibly shift her attitude.

but he needed to know... it was the one thing about her past he had absolutely no general idea about.

plus, it was also something he needed to address in order to understand all the other questions he wanted to ask her about someday.