tangled (mileven au)

i see the light

"You're perfect." He breathed, the words falling from his lips without so much as a second thought.

It didn't matter if it slipped out or not, he was only speaking the truth. She was perfect, in every way possible and he wanted to smack himself for not acknowledging that fact sooner.

Mike instantly reached his hand out, brushing a few fallen strands of hair back from her eyes, the unexpected gesture widening the grin across El's face even further.

There was something behind the way she looked at him then though, something that completely took his breath away. El stared into his eyes so warmly, like he was all that she saw.

And for him, looking at her felt as if he was seeing light for the very first time. After months of a dark haze lingering around, here she was, somehow lifting that fog right away and it was the best feeling.

As if it had a mind of its own, his hand found its place at her cheek again, his thumb grazing along her soft skin. He then leaned in and did the only thing that felt right in that moment.

He kissed her, their lips meeting ever so softly.

Mike knew the second their mouths touched that nothing would be the same once he pulled away, the shivers of excitement rushing through him unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He wasn't worried about that just yet though, instead scooting even closer.

He was now hovering over her, feeling her lean up just enough to press her lips a bit harder against his.

The two cherished the unforeseen moment, letting a couple more seconds pass before parting, Mike watching intently as El's eyes slowly fluttered open.

Being so consumed in the moment, he didn't think anything of what he had done. That is, until he realized who exactly this was. He hastily moved back, hoping that he hadn't made her feel uncomfortable.

"Was that okay? Sorry, I-"

"It was more than okay." El assured him, the faintest tint of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Oh, okay. Cool." He nodded, clearing his throat as if to get a grip on his unusually awkward self.

"Cool." El shyly grinned, before rolling back over and returning her gaze the sky.

Mike remained still, unable to bring himself to look at anything but her. He wasn't quite sure how that had just happened or what he had just felt, but he was certain of one thing— that kiss had caused his whole entire world to shift, she had caused his whole entire world to shift.

"Hey Mike, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you hurt Troy today? I know why I hurt him, but why did you?" She questioned further, nothing but curiosity behind her words.

Mike blew out a sigh, certainly thankful for the distraction from his overwhelming thoughts. Now, he just had to figure out how to sum up his hatred for the boy he had known since kindergarten.

"I've always hated Troy, ever since we were kids. He used to beat me up all the time, before I was strong enough to fight back, which would be enough of a reason for me to want to hurt him on its own. I've seen how is he around girls though, so I can imagine the way he acted toward you was the same. He deserves much worse than a broken arm for treating you that way, so much worse."

"You did all that because of me?" She wondered aloud, sounding as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, El. I did."

"Oh, wow. Thank you, Mike."

"Anytime, even though you probably don't need me to fight your battles. I mean, you broke his arm with nothing but your mind." Mike pointed out, certainly satisfied by the thought. "I wish I could've seen that, by the way."