mileven oneshots ♡

biking

||part 1||

'so you've never ridden a bike before?' mike asked el, his warm, chocolaty eyes widening as an idea formed in his mind.

'no,' el replied. 'only on the back of yours.'

'well, do you wanna try it?' he said, giving her a sly sideways look.

her eyes widened. 'you mean, i ride the bike?'

'what, you don't want to?' mike grinned.

'no, i – i do,' el insisted, giggling. 'i just... i don't know how. what if i fall?'

'it's not hard,' mike said, offering her his hand. she took it and the touch set off july fourth sparklers in their hands - the ones that you write dreamy crackling messages in the air with.

'mike,' she said urgently, and he realised just how serious this was to her. 'what if i fall,' she reiterated, and this time it wasn't a question.

the cheeky smile dropped from his face. his expression was sincere. he squeezed her hand tight. 'el, i promise i won't let you fall. friends don't lie, right?'

'friends don't lie,' she murmured.

'okay, great! let's go,' he said, pulling her along behind him.

mike was more excited than she was. quite frankly, el thought it was adorable.

||part 2||

they'd decided to practise outside the wheelers' house, on the road.

it was a brooding summer day and the air was humid. a shy breeze billowed through el's pixie cut and she lifted her head to the sky, closing her eyes.

'el?'

a pitter-patter of drizzle was starting up from deep within the dark, thick clouds above. warm plinks of rain spattered her face.

'ehhhh-eeeel,' she heard from somewhere far away.

now she could smell the wet road: that ashen, rainy-tarry smell. her mouth turned up into a content smile.

'el!'

her eyes flew open.

'hi,' mike grinned, looking at her with a mixture of amusement and... what was that? that warm twinkle in his eyes, that twitching in the corners of his lips, that deep blush that was spreading from cheek to cheek?

'hi,' el smiled with all her teeth. she couldn't help it - she giggled again. she seemed to do a lot of that when she was around mike.

mike laughed too, but quickly got down to business. 'so, first you hop on... obviously, i, uh, i guess. and then you start pedalling. just move your feet like this, ok?'

el nodded, and noticed her heart was starting to beat faster.

'it just feels natural. it's instinctive. once you're on the bike, you'll know what to do.'

she offered a quick confirmative smile.

mike started pedalling away, calling instructions over his shoulder. 'if you wanna turn you just move the handlebars like this,' he yelled, swivelling the bike fully around so he was moving back towards el. 'and to stop, you pull this towards you,' he finished, and squeezed the brake. he stopped right next to el and hopped off. 'ready to try?'

'ready!' she exclaimed. it looked so easy when he did it - surely she could manage it.

he held the bike steady while she clambered on and set her feet on the pedals. her heartbeat thudded louder and faster in her ears and her stomach swirled. the nerves were back, but they were also excitement.

'i'm going to hold on to the seat while you pedal forward, ok el?' he said.

'don't let go,' she said quietly.

'i won't,' he promised. 'ready?'

'ready,' she whispered, and started to move the pedals in the same way she'd seen mike do a million times, but never actually done herself.

'that's it! you're doing it, el!' mike shouted. she could hear the smile in his voice. he was excited... excited for her.

he was right: it did feel natural, as natural as using her powers (but without the bloody nose, of course). she started to gain speed, the wind tussling her hair back, and suddenly she understood what all the fuss was about.

this is amazing, she thought. i'm flying!

'mike!' she cried, grinning the widest grin possible. the suburb, a mixture of upper middle-class house colours and bright green privet hedges, flashed by in a dreamy blur as she pumped her legs harder and harder. 'mike, i'm flying!'

no response.

'mike?'

nothing. was he even there?

'i'm right behind you!' she heard him call.

...oh.

he'd let go.

panic filled her and her brain seemed to forget what to do.

'you're ok el! just keep pedalling!' she heard him shout, but she wasn't ok, she was far from ok, because there was a car coming and she was trying to swerve off the side of the road and brake frantically at the same time and -

- she fell.

she used her hands to break the fall; they stung badly as they grazed the road. she could hear the bike chains whirring madly, like someone was flipping playing cards right next to her ears.

suddenly, a weight on her leg she hadn't noticed until then was lifted. the bike. someone had pulled it off.

arms encircled her. mike's arms.

'shit. el? are you okay? god, i'm so sorr-'

he stopped, stunned, as she started to laugh, emitting gales of happiness that rip-roared around the neighbourhood. mike, confused as he was, laughed too, because it was hard not to. the sound was infectious.

she pulled her weight up so she was leaning on one arm, still letting out the occasional chirrup of laughter.

'i'm sorry, el,' he repeated, eyes guilty. 'i shouldn't have let go... you had no idea what to do when that car ca...'

he trailed off as she pressed a single finger to his lips. 'mike,' she said, eyes wide and earnest. 'it's not your fault.'

'friends don't lie, but i did,' he said. 'don't you see? i lied, el. and you got hurt.'

'no, you were helping,' el said firmly, pressing her hand onto his shoulder. 'i'm the mouthbreather, i fell off. besides, now i can ride a... a bikelickel.'

she was adorable. he didn't have the heart she'd got it wrong, so instead, he allowed his mouth spread into a wide, beautiful grin. 'guess you ca-'

she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips, surprising him. he eased into the kiss, enjoying the way her lips felt so warm and full on his, and when she pulled away, he leaned in for another.

a deafening beep shocked them both. a white car screeched to a halt as it waited for them to move. they scrambled up and el grabbed the bike, both of them giggling as they ran for the road edge.

'mike?' el said once they had recovered from the hilarity of being honked at for kissing in the middle of the street.

'yeah?'

'maybe we shouldn't kiss on the road again,' she said, giggling.

'probably,' he agreed, laughing.

'i'm going to try bikling again,' el announced, clambering onto the bike. she met mike's eyes. 'don't hold seat,' she said, eyes serious, but smiling all the same.

________________________________________

1100+ words

feel free to make requests below

hope you enjoyed!