Have you ever written a chapter and going into it, you know what you want to happen, but then as you're writing it, something completely different emerges from it? Because that totally happened to me in writing this, lol. This chapter is more so just leading up to the events of the next chapter, which I've already started writing. Hope you like it though! Feel free to comment. (P.S. I love how Mike puts his own curiosity aside to act on his romantic feelings and tendencies.)

[Christmas Eve]

"El...Am I crazy, or is there a piece of mistletoe floating in the air?"

"Mike-" she said, interrupting herself by approaching his face.

"El...your-your nose, *points* it's-"

"I know…" she said with a smile, placing a hand behind his ear and gazing down at his lips.

He looked at her, his face full of shock, as he was still processing the whole thing.

"But-But I thought-"

"*wipes away blood from nose* Mike, just shut up and kiss me already! This mistletoe's not gonna hold itself," she said, each of her words, an echoing breath against his lips.

"Right, sorry! *dorkily chuckles*"

And so, he placed his hands on the side of her neck, his thumbs resting on her cheekbones. He walked towards her, moving in on her face, slowly but surely. His forehead now resting against hers, he looked her in the eyes with intention, his eyelashes brushing upon her skin as he closed them. Then, he latched his lips onto hers, her bottom lip running through his teeth. And his nose bulldozed into her cheek, nudging her face back as his head moved in agreement with her lips and her chin moved in unison to his.

Lips letting go with a light smack, he released her from his embrace. And his elbows escaped from the cups of her hands, leaving her with an empty feeling...All until his eyes found their way back to hers, holding her hostage with his gaze and imprisoning her in his love.

Silent and frozen in place with a focus that couldn't be altered, she was completely captivated by the eyes before her. These vulnerable circles of brown, so charming and so telling, perforated by his pupils which had enlarged at the sight of her. It was almost like she was peering into his soul, seeing not only the good and the bad, but the beauty in him too. Staring at them endlessly made them seem like tunnels in that way. And within an instant, she felt her grip loosen on the floating mistletoe and exhaled in relief as it hit the floor, just as it all hit her...all of these loving feelings that she didn't quite know what to do with. So, she decided to act on them.

Once standing on tippy-toes, she was finally at his level, her eyes still fixed on his. She was completely under his spell and it gave her clarity...it gave her a love that she never thought could be, so what was the hurt in asking for a little more? It just felt so right, so much so that she wasn't ready to let go just yet. And so, she hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him with all her might. And he bent down, hugging her lower back in one arm and her waist in the other, their abdomens nearly touching behind their clothes. Lost in his eyes and found in his arms, she felt reborn.

"*pulls away and smiles* I have so many questions about your powers, but I-I don't want to talk about that right now…" he said, holding her hands.

"Me neither," she said, shaking her head and smiling, their faces still close.

"You-You don't?"

"No, that conversation can wait, and besides, there's nothing wrong with getting a little distracted from time to time, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, we've certainly waited long enough to rekindle this *use air-quotes* spark between us. I think this is just the first step."

"Do you wanna go somewhere more private? Your room perhaps?"

"Did you really even have to ask?" he said.

"*El smiles big, takes his hand in hers* C'mon then! What are you waiting for?" she asked, dragging him up the steps.

El liked seeing Mike this way, more focused on her than her powers because, for most people, her powers were all they saw, but Mike was different.

Lying on their sides, hands in her hair, feet rubbing against hers, arms around his back, slithering down his neck and to his chest, it was safe to say that they made out for quite some time...That was until the thought of her powers came creeping back into his head.

"Wait, El?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm overwhelmed with curiosity right now...H-H-How did your powers come back?"

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, the first time that I noticed it was when we were kissing in our fort."

"What? Why didn't you just say so? *puts hand in lap*"

"I was just too scared to tell you because the whole thing had freaked me out."

"But how did you know they were coming back?"

"I kind of levitated."

"And you weren't trying to?"

"No, but the first time I levitated, I didn't have any control over it either, it just kind of happened. I don't know how to explain it really..."

"Was it kind of like this power just sort of manifested inside of you?"

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Then what do you think gave you the strength to levitate?"

"I-I think you did. I think somehow, you brought it out in me. You made me believe in myself again and your energy just fed into mine. You helped me see just how powerful I actually was when I was powerless."

"Believe me, I only tried to bring out what was already there all along. I know that you've always felt like an outsider, that you've always felt different from others, but your powers, growing up in that godforsaken lab, being an orphan for most of your life, learning English and social cues late...none of that is what makes you you. I mean, sure, it plays a part in it and it's a big part of your identity, but that's not all that makes you special. You're your own person too, you know, aside from all of the difficult circumstances you've been put through. Being different is who you are, it's what makes you stand out and you should embrace that."

"Well, thanks to you, now I know how to separate myself from my powers. *kisses*"

"*smiles briefly* So, so far, all you can do, that you know of, is levitate and lift small things."

"S-S-Sorry, I shouldn't have put it like that I-I- Obviously you can do a lot more than just those things, I just meant powers-wise."

"Mike...It's okay! You respect me better than anyone I've ever met. Don't feel like you have to justify yourself all the time for my sake."

"O-Okay, sorry…*dorkily chuckles*"

"But to answer your question, yes, that's all I can do so far."

"We should try and test it out, the different things you can do. I mean, if you want to of course."

"Yeah, let's do that soon."

"I don't really know a lot about how to bring them out, like what activates them or anything, I mean, I can only base it off of what you've shown me in the past, but I'll try to help you the best I can."

"Just you being here is already more than enough. The fact that you've stuck by my side through all of this and never gave up on me once means everything to me."

"*smiles, lightbulb goes off* Hey, you said that Kali kind of taught you how to have more control over your powers and make them more effective, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And she's like, what, 10 years older than you?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Well, I was thinking...what if you and I go see her and try to figure out how these powers that all of you have came to be exactly. I think if we knew more about that, we might have a better understanding of what we're dealing with here."

"I-I don't know about that…"

"Why not?"

"Be-Because...you don't know what it's like where she lives, what she's like. I know that she cared about me, Mike, but she wasn't willing to give up her dangerous, law-breaking lifestyle. She wasn't willing to sacrifice her belief and obsession with revenge to be in my life."

"If it's too painful for you, then just forget it. I just thought it might help."

"It's not too painful, but-but what if she hates me?"

"Hates you? How could she hate you?"

"I don't know, for leaving her to be with you..."

"She doesn't hate you, El! She knows you did the right thing, even if she disagrees with it."

"You know, I didn't even think about this, but she's probably even angrier at you than she is at me because you're the sole reason I left in the first place. *turns to Mike, grabs him by the shirt* Mike, I don't wanna go…*shakes head* I'm scared that she'll hurt you and I won't be able to stop her because my powers haven't fully come back yet."

"El, whoa, whoa, calm down! You're making a mountain out of a molehill-"

"A who out of a what now?"

"It's an expression. *sighs* Just don't worry about it. You're jumping to conclusions and getting worked up about nothing! She's not going to hurt me."

"*tears up* But everyone in my life gets hurt! *sobs*"

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, pulling her close to his chest, rubbing her back as he hugged her tightly.

"Everything's going to be okay, alright? *kisses head* I promise. I'm not going anywhere! *holds sides of face with palms touching her hair and temples* You just have to trust me on this one."

"*sniffles* You're really not worried about her?"

"No, not at all."

"Okay, then, I guess we can go. I mean, I would like to know how I lost them in the first place…"

"Yeah, exactly! It was just totally out of the blue."

"Yeah, but Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"You do realize I'm gonna need my powers back just to find her in the first place, right?"

"Dammit! You're right…Well, you have a general idea of where you last saw her is in the city, right?"

"Yeah, but something tells me that that wasn't a permanent home, that she's moved multiple times since I last saw her...She was constantly running away from the law and the cops found her hideout at one point when I was with her, so she had to have relocated and I have no idea where that would be."

"Well, we'll just have to manage on our own until then, but we can do that. I know we can."

"I do too," she said, hooking pinkies with him, shaking them back and forth in a togetherly kind of way.

"You know, actually, come to think of it...Hop had a bunch of files on Hawkins Lab, back from when he was investigating what went on behind the scenes there, thinking that Will was somehow mixed up in all of it. I still have them. I kept them because I thought that they might come to some use someday."

"El! *kisses head with a 'mwa' sound* You're a genius!" he said with enthusiasm.

*El smiles and blushes*

Me? A genius? She never thought she would hear those words come out of Mike's mouth, let alone anyone's. I'm not smart, I barely even know my ABC's, I can hardly even count to my own name! she thought to herself. But El often took herself for granted, as she had emotional intelligence beyond her years. Just because you're still learning about the way that the world works doesn't mean that you're not bright in other ways. Despite not believing in his compliment, it made her feel special, like she wasn't just another girl. Like she stood out in all of the right ways.

"Oh shoot...I don't have them with me, so I'll have to look through them when I get home."

"That's okay, just call me when you do and we can talk through and make sense of it together."

"Will do," she said.

And so they spent every waking moment together until it was time for them both to go to bed. Lucky for Mike, their parents had cleared a sleepover as long as El slept downstairs. But he felt comfort in knowing that she was living in his house once again, even if it was just for the holidays.