Okay, this story originally was 13 chapters but when I was getting 12 ready I thought it seemed short and was kind of a downer, so I just put it with chapter 13. So this is the final chapter. I hope it's enjoyable. Heads up that some may find it to be sardonically irreverent so this is me warning of that. Bonus points if you can find the Mother Love Bone lyric in it.

Thanksgiving break crept by for Mike. He couldn't wait to get back to school. Back to El. It was true that they hadn't exactly been clear where they stood with one another verbally but Mike was pretty sure he had an idea judging by their physical actions.

And Mike was sure that he still loved her. Loved her hard. He did as she'd asked and went to the cabin while he was visiting Hawkins to pass the time. It looked the same, no one had inhabited it in the time since Mike and El had used it, though a panel of glass on the door had been broken, probably in a storm, so he had no trouble sliding his hand through to unlock the door for himself. He stepped through the threshold into nostalgia and felt comforted by the memories. He couldn't wait to see her again.

So when the break was over he wasted no time getting back, not forgetting to get her a treat from Benny's first. He kept it warm in an ice chest on the way back, thinking if it kept things cold it could keep them warm too.

He was almost giddy as he climbed the stairs to her third floor dorm room. Mike happily knocked on room 315 and waited, excitement bubbling from him. He just wanted to see her. To kiss her.

But he frowned when just before the door opened he heard a man's voice coming from inside and then heard El laugh. Then her sweet voice drifted to Mike's ears. Ugh, who is that? Hold on, I'll make them go away. I don't want company right now, he heard her say, as though she was being interrupted and annoyed at the prospect of having to pause whatever fun thing she was doing, before the door opened just a bit and Mike stared down at what he could see of El through the sliver of open door.

"Mike?"

"I...um, brought your burger. Who's in there?" Mike asked, but he knew.

"I...uh...you, uh, came. Today..."

Panic flooded El's entire body. She was quick to close the door behind her and join Mike in the hallway as she refused to let him in. Her boyfriend, though she despised thinking of him as such, had stopped by and while El didn't want to see him, she did want to officially break up with him. So she had let him in to do just that but soon discovered that she was projecting her own feelings onto the issue and was having a hard time making the break, thinking of how she felt when she found herself all alone. Now he was in her room and the last thing she wanted was for him and Mike to meet again. El knew how that would end.

She hadn't anticipated Mike coming back so early and she couldn't help but wonder if he had done it on purpose, just to surprise her. Unfortunately, it was anything but a nice surprise.

Of course it happened that while she was planning on breaking up with the guy, she had been incapable of doing so for the last hour of him being there, never having broken up with anyone before. After all, while she and Mike had loved each other when they were younger they had never put a label on themselves and as such had never had any sort of verbal breakup. She figured breaking up with someone was messy and she found herself laughing awkwardly at his stupid jokes as she tried to ease herself into the breakup subject. At least until Mike had knocked on her door.

"I thought you'd be here tomorrow. I-" I wouldn't have let him come in if I had known, she said to herself, but was too afraid to even voice the words. "Thank you. For the burger. I'll have to talk to you later though." El knew that later there was so much they needed to talk about and she thought she'd have the chance.

She grabbed the paper bag from Mike's hand and looked at him with big doe eyes. He seemed hurt, angry even, and El couldn't do anything but stare at him.

"Really? He's here? El, I thought we...no you know what? Never mind what I thought." Mike's disappointment turned to anger as he felt his stomach tighten. He didn't want to throw up so he let his anger intensify. His imagination was already in full gear and preventing his rational side from interrupting with logical thoughts. "Enjoy your burger. And your life." Mike turned and started to walk away. I should have known. She never loved me. God, I'm so stupid. I'm such a fool for thinking things were different now.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he started down the stairs. He didn't give her time to respond.

"Happy Thanksgiving, El."

Morning dawned to find El with tearstained cheeks and untamed hair. She had done everything but sleep and she methodically checked all the places she thought Mike might be, not finding him at his dorm, before she rushed to the library, where she guessed Mike was studying. She couldn't handle it anymore. Her heart shattered upon seeing him so defeated the previous day and she knew there had to be a way to fix it.

"Mike!" Her voice cracked when she spotted him.

He looked like he had been crying - his puffy face and red eyes gave him away - and El just wanted to punch herself when she realized he was standing up and trying to leave.

"I'm so sorry and it wasn't what you thought it was, I swear! Please let me talk to you," El whispered desperately, her small hands frantically gripping the fabric of Mike's sweater until he couldn't break free.

Mike twisted his arm out of her hand and tried to walk away. El followed him.

"Mike, listen!" She chased after him.

"Leave me alone, El. It's over. I can't keep doing this. I thought things were gonna be different," Mike fought back tears. "I thought...I thought you cared. You hurt me, do you understand? What you did sucked!" Mike started to walk away again, needing to distance himself because while he was hurt and angry, he also wanted so badly to just scoop her into his arms and tell her he loved her. His bruised pride had caused him to fabricate all sorts of possible scenarios that El and the guy had been engaged in when he had arrived at her room and even though the scene had actually been pretty benign, Mike had made it one hundred times worse by obsessing over it.

Mike Wheeler was a stubborn boy but El was stubborn too and continued to follow him, grabbing again at his wrist.

"Just stop, El. What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?" Mike ripped his hand away and trudged off once more.

"I- I don't know..."

The pulse was ringing in El's ears, along with Mike's acidic question. It hurt to see him so bitter and determined to get rid of her, as if she didn't mean anything to him. As if he was the one who never cared.

As soon as her eyes pricked and tears tried to run down her cheeks, El wiped them away.

"Mike, I'm sorry. It's not-"

"It's not what? It's not what I think? It's not as bad as it seems? El, I thought about you all week and here you were with him, laughing and doing who knows what else. I...I can't. This thing? You and me? Whatever this is...or was," Mike gestured back and forth between them. "It's done. Do you get it? It's over. You can have your coked-out-alpha-male-ass-slapping-tit-ogling-excuse for a boyfriend. We're over." Tears were streaming down Mike's cheeks and he knew he was hurting her by the way her face crumpled and she bit her lip but once he got going he couldn't stop. He was hurting too. Mike was about to walk away when El grabbed him yet again, her sadness taking on a determination and her brow furrowing. Mike knew that look. El had something to say.

"I broke up with him. That's why he was there in the first place. It's just- it was hard and I didn't know how to do it but I did it anyway after you left..."

Her hands sought for purchase and landed on Mike's face. She was standing on the tips of her toes, desperately trying to lock eyes with the boy she loved so much. Yet he was not having it. Tears spilled down his cheeks while he looked away from El, from anything that had to do with her, and all she could do was wipe away the salty little droplets running down his pale face.

El was heartbroken and the fact that she had no one but herself to blame only made it worse. Her eyes pricked and the tears threatened to fall.

"Mike...look at me," she begged in a whisper.

All Mike wanted to do was accept what El was saying but his stubbornness and pride just wouldn't let him. He did look at her, which only made it harder. But maybe things were supposed to be hard. Maybe he didn't deserve real happiness anyway.

He gently put his hands on hers, where they were desperately clutching his face, and removed them.

"El, no. Even if that's true...I can't. You need to figure out what you want. I...we can't keep hurting each other and I can't keep feeling this way all the time. I think I need to figure myself out too. I shouldn't feel all possessive and jealous if my feelings are what I think they are. I mean, right? It's supposed to be like, mutual trust or whatever? And it's not. I feel crazy. I feel like I constantly need you and that's not healthy." Mike was still holding her hands as he stood there talking. He held one to his lips and kissed her fingers softly.

"So no. This is over. I...I think it has to be. At least for now. I...I'm sorry, El. I don't know what to believe anymore."

El hung on to every word Mike was mumbling despite the unforgiving pain they brought her. He seemed so indifferent, so dispassionate - as if their love didn't mean anything - and El felt like losing her mind already. All she wanted was to sob into his chest and never let go, but Mike was clearly having a different view.

"Okay, then..."

She was defeated as she wiped her eyes and took one last glance at Mike. Despite being so gentle even when refusing her unconditional love, El still found his words vicious and bitter while they carried on tremoring through her mind. She couldn't do this anymore and the flight instinct kicked in.

Without any farewell or hopeless promises, El removed her hands from Mike's hold and ran back to her dorm. She wasn't surprised when the only boy she had ever loved didn't bother to follow her - it wasn't the first time he hadn't.

So that's that, Mike thought as he watched El run away. Seeing her literally run hurt him. She was fleeing. He had used his words and caused her so much pain she actually ran, no, sprinted, away from him. Now he wanted to disappear...to just cease existing.

"Goodbye, El," Mike whispered as he watched her figure get smaller and then she was gone, back inside her building. Back to her room where there were so many memories of things they had done together. So many intimate things that Mike didn't even want to think about.

Yet he couldn't stop thinking about them.

Lying in his bed that night, Mike tried to sleep but every time he closed his eyes he saw El's hurt, crying face and could still feel her hands on his cheeks.

I deserve it. I deserve to be haunted by her pain. I'm the worst. Why did I push her away?

Mike sighed, the air leaving his lungs, and got ready for his first of many sleepless nights.

The next few weeks were difficult for Mike, having to see El in biology lab and try to keep his distance. She always looked hurt and it broke his heart further but he didn't know to fix their problem. He was confused, wanting to be angry and yet knowing that he had blown everything out of proportion. He wanted to be with El but he didn't know how she'd ever feel the same when he had hurt her so badly. For someone who had as many words as Mike Wheeler, he couldn't string enough of them together to tell her how sorry he was. He had barely been sleeping and his hair was always messy. Finally the Christmas break was upon them and he went back to Hawkins. He hoped to sleep there. He hoped to forget.

El was having her own hard time. She wanted to be with Mike, she knew that like she knew her name, but ever since he'd taken away any hope of that for her she had analyzed every part of their relationship and had decided that she wasn't good enough for him anyway. She would always be an outcast, a freak, not like everyone else. Mike deserved the best and El certainly would never think of herself as that. Maybe she was always supposed to feel like a piece of her was missing. She went about her days, spending her Christmas break in the library or sleeping or listening to sad songs that kept her in her melancholy.

The day after Christmas Mike was sitting with his family at the dinner table not really paying attention to what was being said, poking at his food, lost in thoughts he wished he could stop thinking. His ears perked up when what his father was saying broke through his wall of inattention.

"I'm impressed with how school is going, Mike. I knew once I took care of that girl you'd buckle down and excel. Had to get you back on the right track. A father knows best, they always say." Ted smiled smugly, like he was the smartest man on the planet.

Mike felt like his jaw dropped to his plate.

"What? What did you say?"

"I had to intervene. I saw you two, Mike. You were having sex, doing unspeakable things, in the church. I couldn't let her taint you. She's not pure. She doesn't even have parents, Mike. You should be with a nice, regular girl with a family and a good name. You were just a teenaged kid. You couldn't possibly have made good decisions. I don't want my son to be with some…some…some orphan. You're better than that. Those kids are throwaways, Mike. You're meant for something greater. Once I had her removed from your life things looked much better for you. And I was right! Look at how well you're doing at Notre Dame!"

Mike was livid. This man had taken El away from him, had taken away the girl he loved. He tried to remain calm so that his father would hear everything he had to say.

"It was you? You sent her away? You sent a kid who had nothing away from the only friends and family she knew? And what about me? What about your son? Didn't you see how depressed I was after that? Did that escape you? I almost jumped into the quarry, Dad. And all because of you? If you're a man of God then God is a real mother fucker. Oh, wait, he's the original mother fucker. Happy fucking birthday, Jesus." Mike got up from the table.

"Now son, you will not speak that way in my house. You need to pray for forgiveness."

"No, dad, I think you need forgiveness. You're manipulative, you're a liar, and you do not have the best interest of your congregation in mind. You never even talked to her. You don't know her, don't know anything about who she really is, how sweet and caring and smart and funny she is." Mike's voice was wavering as he spoke of El. He fought back the tears, choosing to be angry instead of crying. "And you lied to me. They all told me she had gone to see the world. You told them to lie, didn't you? Or did you just lie to them too? If you were a righteous man you would have explained everything to me then, you would have sat us both down and talked to us and maybe we could have come up with a solution that worked for everyone. But no, not the Reverend Ted Wheeler. Ted Wheeler deals behind the scenes with a silver tongue Satan himself would envy." He neglected to mention that he and El had been reunited at college.

"You shut your wicked mouth!" Ted tried to match Mike's anger but had been caught off guard by Mike's breakdown of what had happened, what Ted had done. Mike had been eerily correct.

"I'll do you one better! I'm going back to school. Tonight! Mom, I'm sorry, but you deserve better than this excuse for a man. I can't stay here anymore. Maybe never again. You can blame him. I'm sure he'll tell you to pray about it. Bullshit is always his answer, except when he's ruining lives." Mike left the table and went up to grab his things from his room. He was going to find El as soon as he got back. He was going to tell her everything and hope that she understood. He felt sickly anxious as he thought about how he'd pushed her away.

My father created a hell for her and then I told her I couldn't be with her. What if she doesn't forgive me? Mike thought as he drove back to school. It was dark out but not terribly late. He wasn't sure where she'd be but he was going to search until he found her.

When he got back to school he checked her dorm room but no one was home. Then he went to the student union and didn't find her there either. Finally he decided to check the library. He was cold, his nose was numb, but he didn't care. El was more important than his comfort or warmth.

El was in the library sitting at a table by herself on the evening after Christmas Day. Apart from her roommate, she had cut everyone off when Mike had decided to do the same to her. El was far from proud of how everything turned out, but she couldn't complain much, either. Her life was finally peaceful despite the countless nights she still spent crying over Mike and wishing he would come back to her.

And that was why she stood up from her seat when she spotted a mop of black hair and a lean, tall frame approaching her.

Mike.

Mike was deliberately walking toward El and locking eyes with her; a thing he hadn't done in over a month, even when they had been forced to share a desk in the bio lab, and a wave of panic rushed through her body to the point she found herself frantically packing her books.

She wasn't ready to deal with him. Not now and maybe not ever again as she could already imagine the mean things he was about to tell her. Or worse, El thought, maybe he would try to act as if they were nothing but mere friends.

Mike was five feet away from El when she finally zipped up her white bomber jacket and yanked her backpack off the floor. Her baby pink, fluffy scarf was messily wrapped around her neck and masking part of the shock written all over her face as she walked quickly toward the exit door.

"El, wait!" Mike shouted and was immediately met with a series of shhhhhss from the other library patrons. He hastily followed her out into the cold night.

"Please wait!" He called, trying to catch up to her. He used his height to his advantage and his long legs carried him to her, though she still wouldn't turn around. She had made it halfway across the quad, heading toward her dorm when she stopped.

"El, I have to tell you something. It's important!" Mike was feeling scared because she still wouldn't turn around. He just started talking.

"Okay please just listen? If you want to walk away after you hear me out I understand and I'll leave you alone. I just need you to know."

Mike saw her shoulders slump and knew that she was going to stand there, but she still didn't turn around.

"My...my dad. El, he's such an asshole. No, he's worse than that. He's the worst. I was at home and he was talking about my school. I wasn't really listening until he started talking about how he'd had to get me on the right track. How once he removed that girl from my life things looked better for me. El, my dad had you sent away. He made me get rid of my supercomm and he told everyone to let me think you left because you wanted to. I didn't try to contact you because I didn't think you wanted me to. I thought you left me. But it was him."

Mike was crying. A cold wind blew and El started walking again, though slowly. Mike kept up with her.

"I'm so sorry for not talking to you. I never even asked to hear about it. I'm such a mouthbreather, El. And I'm so sorry for all the time we lost. You want to know something? I never wanted to love anyone else. You're it for me, El. Even if you walk away tonight you'll still be the only girl I'll love. And I do..." They were now standing in front of the chapel, which was closed for a lighting project that would illuminate the stained glass so it could be seen at night.

"I love you, El."

The crunching noises made by El's shaky feet stepping on the snow ceased.

"You shouldn't."

Turning around, she looked at Mike. But this time she really took a look, studying his beautiful features for the first time in over a month. It was obvious he had been out in the cold for a while before entering the library because his pale skin was red and stung by the cold; his dark, long eyelashes and black beanie now peppered with small snowflakes and El forced herself not to pull him in for a kiss and try to make him feel warmer, just like she was feeling on the inside.

It all made sense now - why Mike had never tried to look for her and how he had always seemed just as hurt as her by their sudden separation. El felt beyond stupid to not realize that Mike's father, the reverend, had been behind all of their gruesome pain.

But that didn't change who she was. Or what she was. Mike's father probably knew about her powers too and El couldn't disagree with him. Mike's life could really get back on track if she wasn't around.

"I'm a freak. I don't know what your dad told you, but he was probably right about everything. So forget about it. I'm- I'm trying to."

"What are you even talking about?! You're not a freak, El. But I'll tell you something. As long as you're you I wouldn't care about anything else. I wouldn't care how you looked, or how you dressed. I wouldn't care if you walked backwards. I wouldn't care if you could fly, though I won't lie that would be so fucking cool. But what I'm trying to say is that there's nothing you could tell me about yourself that would make me feel differently about you. Fuck, El. I love you so that means the good and the bad. All of you. Please? Please let me? I mean, look where we are right now." Mike saw her follow his gaze to the big doors of the chapel. The big locked doors.

"I don't believe what I used to. Not anymore. But here we are, you and me, and so much happened for us in a church. We met there. We...we made each other feel so good there. Do you think it means something? El, it can...if you let it. Just tell me what you think is wrong with you so I can tell you how right it actually is."

"It's not, though."

The cold tears hit El's scarf and she succumbed her head under the cozy fabric until only her hazel eyes were visible.

"It's not like you think it is. All those comic books you read...they suck, Mike. Jean Grey? She found love and people who understand her, but in reality it's never like that. You're just shunned and forced to keep it a secret and it just...sucks!"

El couldn't tell what Mike was thinking, but there was a mix of bewilderment and confusion written on his face as he listened to her. El grabbed his shoulders and turned him around until he faced the lighting project.

With a flick of her mind, all the lights turned on, one by one, until the whole chapel was illuminated. The sudden burst of light reflected on Mike's features and El didn't miss the way his mouth parted in pure shock and how his eyes lit up, as if he was a small kid on a Christmas morning. It melted her right away.

"You think that's cool, don't you?" She shot cynically, despite the heat pooling in her stomach at the sight of Mike staring in awe. "It's not..."

Mike could hardly believe what was happening. His mind was racing, thinking back to all of the weird things that had happened; doors opening but El was on the other side of the room, lights turning on when she was nowhere close to the switch. Nosebleeds. A tattoo. El was mistreated at The Lab. The Lab! Rumors about The Lab that he had always shrugged off flooded his brain and he knew. Mike knew what she meant at that moment. He didn't know exactly what she could do but Mike did not care.

A smile spread across his face and he took a step closer.

"I think...El, I think you're cool. I always have, no matter what you can or can't do." He reached out, cupping her cheek in his hand and wiping away a tear with his thumb. "Did you just do this? For me? It's beautiful...but not as beautiful as you. And I'm not talking about your face, though I love that." Mike stepped even closer, their faces were only inches apart. "El, I'm talking about you. Like, who you are inside. You're the most beautiful, your heart and your mind. I don't care what you can do to things; I care what you do to me and you make me happy. When I'm with you I'm happy, El, and I don't ever want to not be with you again." Mike closed the gap, though to him it looked like El was just waiting for him to do it. Their lips connected and Mike felt El sink into his embrace.

"God, I missed you," he murmured, their mouths never breaking entirely. "How are you so amazing?" He marveled into her mouth.

"You're freezing," El stated the obvious in concern and Mike nodded in agreement.

"How about...we warm ourselves up in here? We can…talk," she suggested tentatively and motioned to the chapel. She didn't plan on talking that much because being away from Mike had been terrifying enough and all she wanted was to press herself against him and never let go.

"That'd be nice, but it's locked. It says there."

El's eyes followed Mike's pointed finger until they landed on the sign that reinforced his statement. It brought a sheepish smile to her face. Maybe my powers don't suck so much after all, she thought.

"Too bad."

She tugged on Mike's hand and brought him closer to the ancient, wooden doors. Using her powers once again, the locks came undone before El led Mike inside the chapel with an innocent grin on her face.

The chapel itself wasn't terribly unlike the church where they had met. The stained glass looked down on wooden pews and crimson rugs along the aisles. El and Mike sat down on the second pew from the front, the same location where they'd often sit as kids.

"I just, I can't believe my dad would do something so vile. El, I wish I could give you all that time back. I wish I could give it back to us."

El sighed, but not from sadness. She felt like she could finally relax. It had all been a misunderstanding and it would be funny if it wasn't so maddening.

"I was so scared. They took me away and were short with me if I asked any questions. And the place they sent me to was almost worse than the lab before it was an orphanage. I had so many chores and they only fed us the required minimum and I cried myself to sleep so many nights. I always hoped you'd come find me. I didn't have any friends because they'd give us extra chores if we talked to each other about anything other than work. It was like a prison. I'd think of you at night and I'd dream about you, but somewhere along the way I was so overwhelmed by everything I started to resent you, or I resented something. I didn't understand how me running away for a few days could equal such a harsh punishment. Now I know. It wasn't that at all." El hung her head.

"I don't want you to ever feel like that again. I want to make sure your life only gets better every day." Mike slid his hand over on the seat until his pinky finger touched hers, then his hand enveloped El's. "I shouldn't have pulled my hand away that day at church. In the beginning. I was so dumb. I was surprised and my heart was speeding up and then I worried that my father would see but now I know I shouldn't have cared about anything but you. You're all the matters. I thought I'd lost you forever."

El smiled shyly and gripped his hand. "I'm not lost anymore. You found me, or the Universe found me for you. Can you believe we chose the same school?" El scooted closer to Mike. "I mean, is that God or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But definitely not the God my dad preaches about. Not a selfish God who needs constant praise or he'll smite his people, but a God that rights the wrongs of the world, who brings people together instead of allowing wars to be fought in his name. I wouldn't call it God at all. It's something that doesn't need human affirmation. It just keeps a balance in the Universe. Maybe it is the Universe." Mike leaned in as El did the same and they met in a kiss, which deepened rather quickly.

"I love you. You know that, right? It's most definite. I always did, even when we were being stupid and fighting all the time. I love you so much." Mike said between kisses.

El was almost crying. "I love you too. I thought I'd never get to again. I thought it was all over. It was crushing, Mike."

He pulled El into him. Being raised in church he thought he might feel odd about showing any sort of physical love in the actual sanctuary but he found that he felt peaceful. It felt right to be holding her in his arms there, it felt right to be kissing her.

"Don't cry, El. I promise, I'm done being stupid. I promise I'll always talk to you, no matter if I'm happy or sad, I'll always make sure you understand me and that I understand you. No more misunderstandings. We're in this together for always." Mike wiped a tear away from her cheek and smiled. "Look where we are right now. We're in church. Where's that girl I love to do things with in church? I know she's in there, just waiting for the crying to be over. She wants to come out and play, I know it." Mike knew he was getting through because El looked at him and no longer looked as sad, instead giving him a slightly mischievous grin. "You know what we do in church. It's what we're best at." She looked up at him and he winked at her before his face got more serious. "I'm sorry he hurt you. My dad can't hurt us now. I'm sorry I hurt you. But you don't ever have to be alone again." Mike's hand stroked her thigh.

"I wish we'd figured out a way that I could finger you while we sat in the audience listening to my dad blather on. Can you imagine sitting there with my hand stroking your pussy, getting you wet, while anyone could see us at any time?" Mike felt his love grow.

He felt something else growing too but he didn't care. He needed her and if there was a God then he'd set all of this up so Mike didn't hesitate. He stood up, taking El with him. His hands moved under her sweater and she shrugged off her coat.

"I love fooling around with you in church. I missed this. Remember sucking my cock while my dad preached? Remember me going down on you? You teaching me how? Fuck that was so hot. You're the best teacher. I remember everything I learned, everything you taught me. Now I want to fuck you in a church sanctuary. We've never done that. Can I show you how well you taught me?"

"Really?"

El was grinning from ear to ear. There were no more boundaries between them now - Mike knew her inside and out, he now knew what anyone else outside The Lab had never found out. She felt exposed and vulnerable, but in a good way that only Mike could ever manage to draw from her, and contrasting these emotions was the empowerment his words were giving her.

El wanted to thank Mike somehow, to show him how grateful she was for not giving up on her, and so she pulled him toward the first row of pews. He sat down obediently and held her scarf and jacket to his chest, while El swiftly took her knitted sweater off. It went off right before her boots and jeans, and she was soon standing in nothing but white lingerie and striped socks. Her bra came undone without the help of her hands, and Mike was mesmerized to see the lace fabric flying in the air until it landed on the ground.

Silently, El undressed Mike until there was a pile of their combined garments on the floor. He still had his pants on, despite being unbuckled and pulled down to his mid-thighs, but they had done this enough times to know they could work with it.

She was now on her knees between his shaky legs, her icy fingers warming up over his erect shaft as she stroked it teasingly. A stripe of saliva landed from between her frosty lips to his tip before El smeared it all over the length and smiled up at Mike.

"I don't think the sanctuary is that different, Mike. Though it is a bigger stage. You'll have to put your skills to use. Is there anything you need to brush up on? Because maybe I can tutor you."

"I need to be tested I think. To prove what I know. See if I know it on a college level." Mike watched El listen to him, her nose and lips teasing his straining cock the whole time. "Since you taught me in church and that's where we are I think my memory will be good. But I'm not sure. You might have to remind me. Like, what does your mouth feel like?"

Mike jutted his hips forward, his dick rubbing against her lips. El winked at him and took the tip into her mouth.

"Don't be fast," Mike whispered. "I want to come with you shaking on my cock."

"I'd always give you an A for that." El didn't refrain from wrapping her lips around his head again and going down onto the shaft. She took her time like she had been asked to, her mouth massaging Mike's throbbing cock so slow and sensual he was already bucking up.

"You know, Mike... there's still one thing we've never done," El pointed out while rubbing her glistening plush lips over Mike's swollen tip. She was doubting her body was capable of the task she was about to perform on Mike and a wave of self-consciousness took over her, but she still thought they could give it a try. Her small hands pressed on either side of her perky breasts and she squeezed them together, right around Mike's erect cock. His shaft was in between, and her fingers formed a shield where her boobs couldn't reach, just so Mike could be engulfed in nothing but warmth and softness.

"You've never tit-fucked me. Do you want to give it a try?"

She moved her upper body along with her hands, the tight seal that she had formed around Mike's cock tickling his most sensitive parts.

Mike had always thought about fucking El's breasts, or at least feeling his cock slide against them, feeling her soft skin pillowing his dick as he moved between them. She was never about showing off her tits but Mike had always thought they were great and they had grown in the last couple of years.

"Fuck that feels good. But it looks even better. Look down, El. Yeah, don't stop. Like how my cock touches your mouth every time you lean down? Keep fucking me with your amazing tits but could you tease me with your tongue as my dick pops out under your chin?" Mike's large hands were on her chest, his fingers wrapped around each boob and pushed in, squeezing his cock between them. El's saliva was acting as lube and she was brushing her lower lip across the tip of his cock every chance she got. Occasionally she would hold him in her mouth when he was at the peak of his thrust, pressing her breasts together with him, and Mike watched it all in wonder. Seeing his big cock poke through her perfect tits sent a smattering of pre-cum out over her chest. He wasn't worried though because he knew there would be so much more later.

"God yes. Do that."

El obliged, letting her mouth toy with Mike's tip every time it peeked from between her breasts. She moved along with his thrusts, helping him feel the smoothness of her hot flesh and gazing up at him whenever she could. He had moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the pew and El could fit in the space between his legs. He was thrusting but El was really doing most of the work due to Mike's lack of leverage on the firm seating. It was work she didn't at all mind.

He was so striking, his eyes so captivated by what was happening between his legs that El could easily study him. It became overwhelming after a while and flashbacks of their early encounters flooded her mind and it didn't come as a surprise to find in front of her eyes the same sweet, loving boy who was enchanted by everything they were doing.

El stopped and moved up, her panty clad pussy resting on Mike's thighs after she straddled his legs and cradled his head in her palms. He couldn't look away and El was contented, because she needed Mike to look at her.

"Mike, I really...love you. And I'm sorry for everything..."

She was stopped mid-sentence because Mike was already kissing her mouth and trailing his tongue over her bottom lip. El wanted to reciprocate it, but not before she finished.

"Mike, listen-"

"Show me." Mike had heard her but they had already spent so much time lamenting and apologizing and crying. He thought they both needed to just let their bodies speak for them. He pushed her panties aside, exposing her bare and soaking wet pussy.

"Tease me some more. Do it while the saints watch us. They like to watch, El. Let's make it good. When you can't stand rubbing your hot pussy on my dick anymore you can take it. I'm gonna pull these panties sideways as far as I can because you look so hot still wearing them while you use my dick. If they get uncomfortable tell me and I'll take them off."

Mike's fingers ran through her slick folds and he moaned. She was already grinding on him and her familiar warmth felt so good he pushed her down into himself harder while his mouth returned to hers.

"Fuck, you feel good. Make yourself feel good. Make your pussy feel good."

"Only if you feel good, too," El added over Mike's open mouth.

They licked the inside of each other's mouths and tangled their tongues together while El kept a firm grip on her panties that were pushed aside. This way her bare pussy could rub over Mike's erection, her clit touching every little inch of his shaft and sending chills down El's spine.

"But I can tease you if you want. I'm pretty sure I can make you come just by doing that."

In a swift motion, her hips lifted up until the head of Mike's cock was pointed right at her entry. She took him in just slightly, less than an inch burrowed inside her wet folds before she raised herself up and lowered back down.

"Remember when we first kissed?" Their teeth clashed together as they both grinned at the memory. "You were such a virgin, Mike. I was, too, but you were scared...and I shoved my tongue down your throat and you loved it."

She decided to refresh Mike's memory and repeat the act, her tongue now dancing around his before they needed air and nuzzled their noses together. Her pussy was still tantalizing his cock, merely taking him in then copping out.

"Or when you looked under my skirt. I knew you wanted me."

"Just looking at you teases me, El. I remember all that stuff. Separating the apples after I'd looked up your skirt. I got hard in the orchard that day you know. I had to hold the basket in front of me for a while so no one saw. Then when we were alone and talking I thought about looking up your skirt, how I could see your panties and how climbing the ladder had caused them to bunch up into your crack and your ass looked so nice...oh fuck you feel so good doing that...I got hard again. And then you kissed me. It was so hot how you just took what you wanted. Kissing you that day is still one of my best memories. I jerked off so hard that night in the basement thinking about seeing up your skirt and...fuck you're so wet I almost slipped all the way in just now...and what it would be like to see you for real. To touch you. Then I felt guilty so I prayed like an idiot. But hey, maybe my prayer was answered. Here we are now. We should kneel."

Mike picked her up in mid-stroke and carried her across to a small prayer altar. He set her on her knees and got behind her. Instead of lining his cock up, his mouth went to her pussy and he licked, only her outer lips, knowing how he would drive her crazy by doing it. He let his tongue travel up, lightly flicking over her asshole and loving how she moaned and backed herself into him more. He wasn't sure how exactly she was putting up with his teasing but her thighs were completely wet and slick and Mike knew she couldn't hold out for much longer. He stood on his knees behind her, not bothering to wipe her juices from his face.

"You tell me when you can't stand it. Tell me when you need it. Let's stay on our knees. We should be reverent here. The knees bow, the tongue confesses."

Mike was running his hands over her smooth back, his cock between her legs. He liked that she would squeeze her legs together around it, so obviously wanting him to penetrate her but also wanting the delicious teasing to continue. He had pushed her panties down so that they were around her lower thighs, stretched as far as the elastic would allow as she wiggled and writhed wanting to feel his body against her.

"Don't-" El lamented between moans.

It felt so wrong and perverted to be put on her knees in front of an altar while being naked with a throbbing cock between her legs, but it only added fuel to El's fire. She played down the sinful act by reasoning out that Mike was a church boy and if someone had the right to do that inside a church, it was definitely them. Not that El cared that much. God was the last entity El had ever believed in and the only reason she had never complained attending church back then was Mike's presence.

After the initial embarrassment had worn off, she spread her legs as wide as possible and used her delicate hands to part her ass cheeks and give Mike better access to her pussy. It was sopping wet and aching to be touched inside and out, but El was aware that she had to work for it to happen.

"Mike...put it in. Can you see how wet I am? Put your cock in so you can feel."

The trick wasn't working because all Mike was doing was rubbing his tip over her asshole and clit as he deliberately avoided El's gaping hole. Her middle finger eased inside the hole as a content sigh escaped her parted mouth.

"Fine, keep praying," she joked while now pumping two fingers in and out of her. "I'll just...fuck myself...and pray for you to do it instead."

Mike couldn't let that happen. He couldn't finally have her, really have her heart and soul, and allow her to pleasure herself while he held out.

"I got what I prayed for. Time to answer your prayer." He felt the tip of his cock find its home, like magnets attracting, and eased himself in painfully slowly. There would still be time for out of control fucking but right now he wanted to feel every minute muscle twitch and hear every desperate gasp as he filled her with cock. He started slowly, going deep, pushing her head down more so that her ass was raised to him, sinking himself deep and bottoming out, her cries of lust filling the air.

"Tell me how you want it, El. Tell me faster or deeper. Tell me more or less. I want to worship you."

El surrendered to Mike entirely as soon as he soothed the fire inside of her. Her hands and knees supported her weak body amidst the slow plowing and she couldn't stop herself from rocking onto Mike's hard shaft.

"Deeper. And hard. I want to feel you, all of you."

She savored the teasing fucking until then and glanced between her legs, right where Mike was plunging himself until his dick disappeared inside her core.

"Is that what you want?" Mike asked, even as he was doing it. "It's what I want too. We always want the same things, El." He loved that she was looking, watching him working between her legs, watching as his hard dick pounded harder into her.

"You like it hard, I know. I know everything you like. I've known for years, El." Mike's thumb grazed her asshole. "And you're so good at this. You're so good at taking my cock in every way imaginable. I love to give it to you. Yeah, push back on me. Make me go deeper. I love it when you take what you want, El. I love it when you get what you want."

El devoured every word that came out of Mike's mouth. They never ceased to turn her on impossibly more and she slammed herself onto Mike's cock repeatedly, until the slapping sounds echoed throughout the empty church.

Raising her upper body up, El searched for Mike's face until she entangled her arm around his head, their cheeks now nuzzling together. He continued to pound her, forcing El to take his cock as deep as was physically possible, until his sack smacked over her skin.

"Will you tell me something, Mike?" He hummed in response and El smiled in delight, her lips now glued to his ear. "Tell me you're mine, only mine. And th-that...only I will ever get to feel you like this...and only I will get to make you feel this way. Will you tell me? Please tell me. I need to hear it."

Mike held her close, her arm around his neck, pulling his head to hers as she strained her neck to reach him. He kept his pace, his cock slamming into her, squishing their bodies together with every needy thrust.

"I never want to feel anyone else on my cock. I never want anyone but you to touch it." Mike kissed her cheek, his heart swelling as her head turned more so that her lips could reach his. "I only want to kiss you. I only want to make you feel good and I'll do anything to accomplish that. El, it's always been that way...I think since we first met. I just...knew." His cock went impossibly deeper as she added her other arm, only her knees and Mike holding her up as she accepted his hard fucking.

"El, it's all yours. I'm all yours. My body, my mind, my heart. You make everything better. You make me better."

"And do you love me? Because I love you, Mike-"

She couldn't take it anymore. After taking a glance around the dimly lit church, El pulled away from Mike's delicate hold and rummaged through their clothes. She successfully scattered them on the ground until they formed a barrier between their bare bodies and the cold, dirty floor. Mike was lazily stroking his cock and watching El in confusion when she lay down on their shared garments and pulled him closer. Seeing her lay spread out before him, declaring her love, in a church of all places felt like a dream. He reattached to her instantly once he understood what was happening. His knees gave up immediately as their bodies entangled, El's calves wrapping around Mike's thighs while her hips pushed against his.

"I love you so much," she continued, her fingers caressing Mike's rosy cheeks. "And I'd never let you go. I'd be stupid to...when you're so good to me. And so beautiful...and amazing."

El was rambling at this point, her mouth glued to Mike's neck and peppering kisses over his pulsing skin as she waited for him to resume the thrilling plowing.

Mike held her as they lay together in the floor of the cathedral, looking into her eyes.

"I can't let you go, El. I even tried to and look at where that led us. We were torn apart and the universe put us back together again. Breaking only made us stronger."

Mike couldn't wait anymore. He loved her so much and he wanted to show her...in front of stained glass, in front of the prayer candles, in front of any deities that may or may not exist. He returned his aching cock to her waiting and wanting pussy, both of them sighing at the exquisite fire reigniting.

"Fuuck, you feel better than anything. I don't mean just my dick inside you. I mean you make me feel better in every way. I love you too. I...I don't think I ever stopped. I loved you then, I love you now, and I love you for always."

Mike thrust into her hard and deep as they both moaned together.

El refused to cry. She couldn't; not now, not when Mike was plunging into her until almost all the oxygen was leaving her lungs. And so she tried not to, instead wrapping her arms around his neck and keeping him glued to her chest as they moved in unison, El's body pushing against Mike's as they conjoined in the most exquisite way.

"Make me come, Mike. Make me…make me come on your cock. Only you can do this...only you can...fuck me so good. I'll never let anyone but you," El declared desperately.

"Okay, if that's what you want. I want you to have that. Whatever you need. Ease up just a bit?" Mike felt her arms relax and pulled back a little.

"I just wanna look at you while I do it. I haven't come in church since that day in the choir room before my father had you sent away, the day you wore those stockings and nothing else. You were so hot you burned the image onto my brain. And now you're in just these striped socks? El, what is it with you and hosiery? You are so ridiculously hot when you wear just that. Like, cartoon eyes popping out of my head style. Just thinking about it...oh, I'm so close." He watched as his dick disappeared into her, then again, hearing her sweet sounds. He didn't want to finish before her though. He leaned back down close to her ear.

"El, are you close? I can feel your pussy throbbing on my cock but I want to be sure. Are you gonna come on my cock soon? If I can hold out until then, and that's iffy," Mike chuckled as he started to suck on her neck, still rocking deeply into her, "but if I can hold out until you come I want to come all over your body. I want to baptize you in my come, El. Would you want that?"

"There's nothing...I want more. Oh fuck, don't stop. Almost-"

Whining and moaning against Mike's shoulder, El let her orgasm take over. Her lower body jolted over Mike's bony hips when the contractions of her inner walls erupted around Mike's cock and sent waves of pleasure to them both.

It was slow and unbearable for Mike, who was now remaining still and waiting for El to stop thrashing in his arms so he could carry on with his plan. When she finally did and her orgasm subsided, the only cue was her lips lovingly pressing over Mike's temple as she breathed unevenly under him.

"Oh god, you are the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Until now..." Mike kissed her, feeling her ragged breaths hitch as he took away any source of oxygen, but he knew it wouldn't be for long.

He pulled out, grabbing El's hand as he got on his knees, hovering over her. He joined her hand with his and they pumped together.

"Mmm, gonna come. Gonna baptize you in the name of my asshole father, his nerdy son, and your holy spirit. Oh fuck, El, I feel it. Take it, let me wash you with it. Uuuhhhnnnn!"

It was like it would never stop. So much come erupted and Mike aimed his dick at El, coating her naked body in his seed. It was running down her stomach and dripping from her chin. It was in her hair and glistening across her breasts. As he finally managed to stop spurting, Mike fell into her, transferring his own semen to himself as well.

"Fuck that was amazing. I don't know what I believe in, but that makes me believe there might be something. I love you, El. I believe that for sure."

El's melodic laughter reverberated against Mike's shoulder as they lay still in each other's arms. Her fingertips grazed Mike's back, drawing random patterns on his freckled-skin and waiting for him to calm down. He had clearly come a lot - half of El was covered in semen as it seeped through strands of brown hair and rested on her breasts and stomach. She loved it, though, and there was nothing to complain about knowing that there were wet wipes in her backpack which was laying on the floor a few feet away from them.

"I love you too," she finally murmured while combing her fingers through Mike's locks. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight? My roommate isn't back yet."

Mike nuzzled into her, feeling like he was finally home after being lost for a long time. "Yeah, I want to sleep with you tonight. I want to sleep with you every night for the rest of my life. But it's your call. I'll follow your lead. I'll follow you anywhere."

El looked lovingly into Mike's eyes. "You don't have to follow because we'll always be connected. And we're a team, so we'll work together. But I don't want to sleep without you. Not ever again."

Presumed happenstance brought them together. Both Mike and El came out of nowhere and into the lives of each other, forming a bond that could never really be broken, even when the world ripped them apart. Throughout everything they could never let go, even when they were at their angriest. The Universe had a plan for them and while it toyed with their emotions, while it hurt them both, it also put them back together again. Mike and El could finally say that they believed in a higher power; a higher power that protected them and shielded them for the rest of their days. It accompanied them on all of their adventures around the world after college, it was present when they found their first home to share together, it comforted them in sad times and laughed with them in happy times. It was with them always, never wavering.

Their higher power was love.

Author's Note: Wow, that was a fun ride. I don't usually do angst but I really enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who read it (or reads it in the future) and had positive things to say. I love Mileven in ANY form in ANY universe.

G-Force: You can binge it now...maybe not in the car though. ;)

M: You know how I feel. Thanks for creating this awesome tale with me. We're connected just as much as they are. Only we're real. But anyway...