A little fast paced action in this one, and then some smuffiness...that's smut that's kind of fluffy. Copyright Calpurnia011 2018 ;)


As the raft got closer to the rapids everyone braced themselves, the crashing water combined with their increased speed causing the Party to tense with exhilaration. On either side of the vessel were large boulders and El and Mike were trying to keep the raft in the middle so that they didn't hit one. They all were quickly drenched by the splashing water as they bounced down the raging stream.

Mike looked over at El. She was leaned back slightly with her paddle in the water, using it as a rudder. Her face was wet but she was beaming, clearly enjoying herself.

After a while the water slowed a bit but they could still hear more rapids in the distance. The raft hit a small eddy where the water was flowing in the opposite direction, which caused them to stop moving and allowed them to catch their collective breath.

"That was awesome! I can't wait for more!" Will exclaimed

"I think there may be a drop off coming up. I'm not sure if it's in this next set or the one after next. So we should be ready for that," Mike said.

"What happens if we fall out? Or if all of us fall out?" Dustin asked.

"Point your feet in the direction the water is flowing and we'll pick you up when we get to you. But try not to fall out," Mike told him.

"I wonder how far it drops?" Lucas thought aloud.

"Let's paddle out of this and find out." Max started to paddle. Everyone followed her lead.

They were soon moving along the river again, all seated on the sides of the raft. Mike and El were in the back, Dustin and Will in the middle, and Max and Lucas sat in the front. Everyone paddled along and quickly started to notice the movement of the water speed up. Max almost fell over the front of the raft when they hit a boulder directly but she hung on and the boat bounced over the rock, spray hitting their faces. Their paddles were really just things to hold by then, the current carrying them swiftly over the rapids, but in the slightly slower parts they had gotten decent at using the paddles so when they needed to the whole operation went more smoothly. They had been floating for a little over two hours. El was surprised at how tired she was already. The raft company owner had told them that the trip usually took around three hours but with the water moving so fast she thought maybe they'd finish it quicker.

"I see something up ahead!" Lucas cried. He had to yell to be heard above the roaring water. "I think it's that drop off Mike was talking about!"

They all peered ahead, the raft continuing at a quick pace toward where everyone's eyes were currently trained. About thirty yards ahead of them the river seemed to disappear, the water no longer visible after a set of small rocks. As the raft got closer they all prepared themselves to drop, hanging on as best as they could to the rope that went along the inside of the boat.

"Oh shit! It's bigger than I thought!" Lucas yelled.

"That's what she said!" Dustin called back. He hadn't yet seen how far the drop was.

The raft reached the side of the drop off and then flew out over the small cliff before tipping forward on its descent. They had felt like they were soaring but in actuality their raft hadn't gone far and as it landed back in the water it heaved and bounced, the waterfall behind them causing it to be pulled backwards. Paddling furiously, everyone tried to get away. El was pulling her paddle as hard as she could and didn't notice Mike's head slip under the falling water, which forced him out of the raft, tumbling from the back.

"Mike!" Will screamed. El turned and Mike was gone. Without even thinking she stood up and jumped into the water from the back of the raft, disappearing under the falls. The force of her pushing off with her legs caused the raft to be sent forward enough that the others could get out of the vortex. Together they pulled the boat over to the side of the river where there was a small strand. Horror filled their faces as they scanned the waterfall and the surrounding water for Mike and El.

When El jumped in all she could think about was getting to Mike as quickly as possible, fearing that he hadn't had time to catch a good breath before being submerged. The water was churning and making it hard to see so she closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind to find her love. He came into view in her head and she swam in his direction. He was at the bottom of the falls, being held in place by the force of the water. El grabbed his arm and pulled, using all of her power. She was so afraid that he'd taken in water and was drowning. In another few seconds they breached the surface, both of them exploding from the pool under the falls. El swam to the bank with Mike in tow, her face a picture of worry. She pulled him onto a rock and started doing rescue breathing.

Please breathe, please breathe, El thought as she breathed into Mike. He started to sputter and El turned his head to the side so the water could come out. After a few minutes he sat up. Their friends were just a little ahead of the rock that El had hoisted Mike onto, watching the scene unfold and feeling relieved that their paladin seemed like he was going to be okay.

El hugged Mike, finally starting to cry at the realization that she could have easily lost him.

"It's okay. You saved me. You always do." Mike held her close to him and her grip tightened.

El sniffled, pulling back enough to look at him. "Why do waterfalls always seem to get us into trouble?"

Mike wiped some mud from her cheek with his thumb gently and chuckled. "How about we make the next one we see memorable for better reasons?" He grinned slyly. El kissed him.

"Hey, are we going to finish this now that Mike's not dead?" Max called to them after giving Mike a few minutes to recover. Having seen him smiling at El she felt like he was going to be fine. They had the raft poised to reenter the water when the couple joined them once more. Mike and El slid off the rock, letting the current carry them to their friends. The water had slowed after the drop, making it easy to grab on to the outstretched hands of Lucas and Dustin who were waiting to pull them out of the river.

"Glad you're okay, buddy. That was scary," Dustin said as he pulled Mike ashore.

Mike was met with hugs from everyone, even Max.

"You're lucky you have El," Max said, then her voice softened. "Don't ever forget that, Wheeler."

They piled back into the raft and continued their quest, adrenaline still potently running through them all. The rapids got a little fast and precarious once more but there were no other drops and they navigated themselves between boulders like seasoned professionals. El looked over at Mike every three seconds to make sure he was still beside her, feeling new relief every time she saw him. After a couple of bends of the river, one of which moved the raft close to a giant rock and caused everyone to have to paddle hard to keep from hitting it, the water evened out and the rocks became fewer. Ahead on the bank they could see a couple of canoes and a truck higher up on the grass, clearly the take-out point. As they pulled onto the bank, the man from the rental place got out of the truck and made his way down to meet them. He gave Mike the keys to the van once everyone had helped get the raft up to the truck. Once they were out of the river they could see their van parked in the shade of a tree.

"I'm so tired now," Mike said as they made their way to their vehicle.

"You'll feel better once we eat something. I know I will. Hey doesn't this park have like a lodge or something? We could maybe eat at a real restaurant before we start hiking. Reward ourselves for what we just did. Hell, reward El for saving our boy," Dustin offered.

"It does have one. We can drive over to it and then head out from there when we're finished eating. I want to change into dry clothes first though," Mike replied. Everyone agreed. The boys let El and Max change in the van while they quickly slipped on dry clothes in the shade of the tree.

Feeling a bit drained, Mike let Lucas drive them to the park's lodge where the restaurant was located. He and El snuggled in the very back of the van on the ride over. El was still feeling like she needed to touch him every few seconds to make sure he was really there.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the lodge they saw that it was indeed a lodge. It was rustic looking but clearly had been recently renovated. The group entered through the front, noticing a gift shop immediately. The restaurant was to their left and the hotel was down the right corridor. Once they had ordered their food, burgers for everyone with house-made potato chips, they sat back and enjoyed the view from a large window that looked out onto the gorge that the river snaked through.

"Mike, dude, were you panicking under that water?" Will asked. Mike was sunk into his chair, the adrenaline finally gone, feeling very sleepy.

"It all happened so fast. One second I was paddling and I thought I could push the paddle down hard and pull but when I leaned back my head went into the water falling down and it knocked me all the way in. I can't remember a lot after that. I know I was on the bottom of the river though. I could feel the rocks jutting into my back while the water kept holding me down. I don't think I'd be telling you this if El hadn't jumped in to find me."

"She was up and out of the boat before I even knew for sure what happened. Will yelled because he was the one who saw you fall in and El was up before I could even turn around. I saw her head disappear and then understood," Dustin explained.

El had been quiet, which wasn't unusual for her, but she looked tired as well.

"What if we could stay here tonight and then start the second part of our trip tomorrow?" Mike wondered.

"The fourth of July is the day after tomorrow. Do you think they'd have any rooms left?" Lucas asked. "Also, I don't know if we have enough money to stay here."

"Ah, but you see, that's where my mother's love for me comes in," Mike grinned before continuing. "I can call her and tell her what happened and how El saved me and how tired we are and I'm sure she'll foot the bill. She loves all of you."

No one could negate that fact. The more they thought about it, the more tired they felt themselves.

"Go call her, Mike, before our food comes. Do it from the front desk so you can see if they have any rooms left and if they do let her know and she can give them her credit card information over the phone," Dustin told him.

Mike left the table and headed toward the front desk.

"El, are you okay?" Max asked. She had noticed how lost in thought El had seemed ever since bringing Mike back up to the surface.

"He was limp when I found him," El spoke softly, "just lying on the bottom, pinned by the falls. The water was just pummeling his face. I thought surely I was too late so I used all my force and pushed him out of there but when he wasn't breathing I almost panicked. I knew I couldn't panic though and I got him to breathe again but I keep replaying it in my head. If Mike hadn't made it I... I don't know what I'd do." A single tear slipped down El's cheek.

"But he did make it, because of you. He's okay, El. You made sure he was okay." Will patted her back. Everyone else agreed.

When he asked about rooms for the night, the front desk clerk had told Mike that there were only two rooms available, one with one bed and one with two double beds. Mike asked him to hold the rooms for just a few minutes while he phoned his mother.

Karen Wheeler listened to her son tell her how he had fallen backwards out of the raft after the drop of about fifteen feet over some raging falls. He told her that El had jumped in and saved him, locating him at the bottom of the river. He told her how El had given him rescue breathing and how the entire ordeal had made everyone very tired. She had him hand the phone to the desk clerk where she proceeded to give him the information necessary for Mike to be able to secure the two available rooms for the night. The clerk handed the phone back to Mike and Mike thanked his mom, promising there would be no more near-death experiences on the vacation. The clerk handed him the room keys and Mike made his way back to the dining room of the restaurant.

The food had only arrived mere seconds before Mike took his seat at the table. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" Max asked.

"They had two rooms left but one is a single and the other is a double. If it's okay, El and I will take the single and you guys can have the other room."

"Really? Man, that's awesome. I'm excited to go hiking and camping and all but I don't think I could do it tonight, not after today. My arms are sore. Hell, my ass is sore," Dustin said, looking grateful.

"Your mom is the best!" Lucas added.

Mike felt El take his hand under the table. She laced her fingers into his, using only one hand to eat her food. He squeezed it back. He could tell she was still feeling shaken by what had happened in the water. He was fine but he knew she was reassuring herself.

"Let's ask for extra towels before we go find the rooms. It's already a little after 5:00 and I'm sure we'll all want to take showers. I know I do," Will said around a mouthful of burger.

"I'm sorry that the rooms aren't on the same floor. You guys have room 401 and we're in 217," Mike informed them.

"I don't care. I just want to get clean, sleep for a while, and start fresh in the morning. What time are we thinking?" Max asked.

"Well, the trail is a loop that is about ten miles long. I don't want to sprint or anything. There are two waterfalls on shorter hikes that branch off the main one so I wanted to see those. Maybe we can find a good camping spot near one of them and camp there tomorrow night. We can go swimming where the falls empty. It won't be like today. It's calmer there. We just need to stop hiking with enough daylight left to set up our camp, the tents and fire and stuff. So we don't need to be gone from here at the break of dawn. We can sleep in a little. Let's meet in the lobby at 10:00 a.m."

There was no disagreement. Sleeping in beds and taking a shower sounded good to everyone.

El was yawning, trying to keep up with the conversation but feeling fatigued. Using her powers when she was happy and having fun was one thing; using them when she was afraid and close to panic was quite another and now she felt like she might not be able to walk to the room on her own legs. Mike could feel her grip starting to slack on his hand, which she was still holding.

"She's going to fall asleep if we sit here much longer. Let's go get our stuff out of the van," Mike said. El smiled weakly at him.

"Hey, Mike? Why don't I take her to your room and drop her off and then I'll come down and help. She's done enough today," Max suggested.

Mike handed her the room key and watched Max help El along. The boys paid for the food and went out to the van to start getting their packs. Max joined them a few minutes later.

"She okay?" Mike asked Max.

"She's lying on the bed. I got her shoes off at least. Maybe she'll feel like taking a shower after she rests for a little while. You should make her feel like she'll never lose you, dude. The thought of that ever happening is breaking her a little bit."

"I'll try my best." Mike was determined.

Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max all took the elevator to the fourth floor while Mike climbed the stairs two at a time and was on the second floor before the others had even stepped off the elevator. When he entered his room, El was asleep on the bed, curled up on her side. Mike quietly set their bags down and took off his shoes, still wet from earlier. Everyone had boots for the hike so at least the wet shoes wouldn't have to be worn again. Max hadn't pulled back the covers for El and she was lying on top of them so Mike looked in the closet and found a blanket. He gently draped it over her, making sure her shoulder was covered, and then went into the bathroom to take a shower.

The bathroom was steamy from the shower temperature, Mike had shampoo in his hair already, suds slipping down his back. His eyes were closed, trying to keep the shampoo from dripping into them. Since he was facing away from the shower curtain he didn't see it move to the side, allowing El to enter the tub behind him. He didn't know that she was there until he felt her small hands slide around his waist, her head resting against his back.

"I thought you were asleep." Mike turned around, wrapping his arms around her.

"I was. I heard you and I wanted to be here."

"Want to help me get the shampoo out of my hair?" Mike was trying to make her smile, knowing that he was far too tall for her to be able to realistically rinse the shampoo from his hair.

"I'd probably slip trying to reach you." A small smile did start to spread across her face.

"But what if I did this?" Mike put her arms around his neck and picked her up easily by her legs, lifting her until their faces were at the same level. El wrapped her legs around his waist to help hold herself up. "Now you can reach me." His face was an inch away from hers.

El tilted his head back gently, allowing the spray of the shower to hit his hair. She used her fingers to massage the soap away, making sure to get it out thoroughly. When she had finished Mike set her back down. He turned around so that her own head was under the faucet, wetting her hair. He began to wash her hair, working the shampoo into her locks.

"I'm really okay, El. I have you, so I'm better than okay. I don't want you to be down because of what happened," Mike whispered softly as he continued to wash her hair. Her shoulders were sudsy and she could feel the soap slipping down her body, feeling the grime of the scarier events of the day start to wash away.

"I know. I just can't stop thinking about what might have happened if I hadn't jumped in."

"You can't worry about things that might happen or you'll drive yourself crazy, El. You can only concentrate on the things that did happen and what happened was that you saved my life. Again. That's what you do." Mike still wanted to lighten the mood. He grinned down at her before kissing her tenderly. "You're the Savior of Misbehavior." El finally giggled, letting her face fall against his chest. A few seconds later she looked up at him, the shower water still feeling very warm.

Mike leaned his head forward until his lips brushed against hers. She put her arms around his neck again and El felt his hands slide under her thighs, lifting her once more. This time seemed less functional than when she was rinsing his hair though. He had started to get hard and she could feel him, her legs wrapped around his waist while her mouth latched on to his. She couldn't get enough of kissing him. She knew that Mike was right, that she shouldn't worry about things that might happen but in the moment of kissing him she thought about what it would be like to never get to kiss him again. She let the idea spur an insatiable need for his lips.

Mike leaned her against the wall of the shower, the porcelain tiles feeling warm against her back, matching the temperature of the spray of water almost. She let herself drop slightly, feeling him against her, ready. She was feeling ready herself, had wanted this since she stepped into the tub with him, but now she wasn't feeling as sad. She was feeling more confident.

El tilted her hips forward, trying to rub herself against Mike's erection, which was at full mast. Mike noticed and moved his cock closer to her opening.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, his mouth on her neck, sucking, making her wriggle in her effort to get closer to him.

"After what happened today, I think I need it. Please, Mike? Make me feel good." Her voice was so sweet, Mike's mouth found hers again.

"I'll always give you what you need, El." He pulled back enough to look into her eyes, his face dead serious. "Anything."

El reached down between their legs, taking his hard dick in her hand. She playfully squeezed it before positioning it where she wanted it. All Mike would have to do was push himself in.

"This is what I need right now."

Mike groaned and pushed in, sliding easily inside. He held himself there while El adjusted her hips, getting more comfortable. He wanted to lift her and drop her back down on himself but El clearly wanted to be closer, pulling herself to him, their chests squeezed together. She was holding him tightly. She knew what she was doing though and soon Mike felt her start to move, rolling her hips and causing him to be pulled inside more. Every movement she made caused more pressure to build. Mike knew when he came it was going to blow his mind.

"God, El, you feel so good." Mike leaned her back against the wall and started thrusting in rhythm to her hip rolling.

"Oh, Mike! Keep doing that. This is amazing." El rolled her hips faster, dipping deeper. Mike matched her.

"Do you want to come on my cock? Because you're about to make me explode. You look so hot with this water dripping down you and you feel so good."

El looked at him then, still rolling her hips, her mouth slightly open.

"I...I...M-Mike. You f-feel so...oh! Ohhh!"

"Yeah, that's it. Come on my cock. It feels so good when you do. I like how you keep going even after. Oh, fuck, El!"

El leaned forward, still trembling, but wanting to kiss him while he released into her. Her lips met his and he kissed her intensely, almost suctioning them together. El felt him finally stop twitching inside her and he started to let her slide back down to her feet. She hugged him close as her feet reached the tub, the water still hitting them.

"You'll always have me, El. I'm yours. I don't want you to ever worry about that, okay?" Mike rubbed her back as they stood in the shower.

"Okay. I'm sorry I got all weird."

"No, that's understandable. If it had been you I would have lost my shit. I get it. Let's get out before the water gets cold."

They dried off and got dressed, both feeling tired but so much better than when they'd first gotten to their hotel room.

As they lay in bed snuggled closely, feeling sleepy, El started to giggle.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Savior of Misbehavior? I don't misbehave that much."

"Well we're going to change that in the next couple of days. I already know some things I want to do while we're in the woods. I hope we still have friends when it's over." Mike laughed.

"Oh really? Like what?"

"I'll surprise you. Do you trust me?" Mike looked at her, asking honestly.

"You know I do. I don't want to scare our friends though."

"They won't be like, scared, just maybe they might see, probably will definitely hear, a side of us they haven't before."

"Hmm, interesting. Just so you know, Max heard us in your basement last night. She was cool about it. They won't be mad at us. And you'll always have me no matter what." El leaned in and kissed him sweetly.

She was yawning a second later so Mike turned off the lamp.

"Night, El." As El cuddled close to him, he kissed her forehead. It wasn't even 8:00 yet and they weren't meeting their friends until 10:00 the next day. Mike planned on taking full advantage of the hotel room at least twice more before they started their hiking excursion. He fell asleep thinking about something he was carrying in his backpack and how he was going to present it to this amazing person lying beside him with her head on his chest.

A/N: It's not an engagement ring. They're not there...yet. I hope the rafting part seemed somewhat realistic. Next they're going into the woods, and you know what happens when Mike and El are in the woods. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think if you want to. Fun times ahead.