He had friends whom went through the same things as him. Every party member had their own struggles, and they knew not to judge. They respected each other, and Mike was grateful he had people whom truly understood and loved him, people whom didn’t think he was crazy. He was grateful for El.

Mike didn’t get to have her through every step of the way. They’d broken up, El moved away. But once everything was over, he knew in his heart he needed to be wherever she was. It was an easy decision to move away from home, and to bring his friends along for the ride. El helped him every day, as he helped her. And Mike couldn’t help the fact that he was still just as in love with her as he had been when he was just a kid, innocent and thrilled by having someone new he could take care of.

Mike was a giver, and even though his panic attacks had significantly subsided, he found himself fearing a great range of things he didn’t necessarily want El to know about. He had amazing friends, he had the most amazing girlfriend, but he still didn’t want to bother anyone but his therapist with random fears he found out every other day. But maybe the thing he appreciated the most about El, was that she always seemed to know it anyway. He didn’t have to talk about them, she read him like an open book.

Still, it kind of was common knowledge he avoided hospitals. Mike probably hadn’t gotten a shot or anything other than his teeth checked out in a decade and his fear of doctors - of anyone in positions of power, really, kept him uneasy. But he couldn’t get away with it any longer, he finally found a good job and as far as he was concerned, getting a fake note from one of Dustin’s shadier friends wouldn’t get him off the hook this time.

Mike sat on the hospital bed, his sleeve rolled up as he waited for his shots. El took his hand and intertwined their fingers as she nudged Mike’s legs apart with her hips - getting into the space between them, leaning her chest against Mike’s. “Honey,” She whispered sweetly.

He laced his arms around her lower back instantly, the movement so easy and familiar as he pulled her close. “Yeah?” He asked quietly, still waiting on her to say something.

“It only hurts a little bit,” She looked at him in pity, kissing his cheek. “But not too much. Just a little, baby. I’ll be with you.” She smiled encouragingly. She buried a hand in Mike’s curls, caressing them. “I’ll be right here, taking care of you.” Then reached forward to rub his back soothingly, keeping eye contact with him in a way she knew worked to calm him down.

Mike closed his eyes and accepted her affection, sighing against her. “You’re way braver than I am.”

“Not true,” El chuckled, kissing his plump lips briefly. “We’re brave in different ways.”

“I love you.” Mike sighed. “He’s taking so long... It just makes it worse.”

“It’s been just a couple minutes, baby.” El said softly.

Mike made a noise, a mix between a groan and a whimper. “Can I get another kiss?”

El’s hands were warm as she touched his cheeks, guiding him towards her. She kissed him softly, gliding her lips against his affectionately. Mike sighed against her. The way she touched him made him feel safe. “I’m so proud of you, Mike. After we’re done, we can do anything you want.”

“I like the sound of that,” Mike buried his face in El’s neck, holding her close.

“I love you.”

What if Mike isn’t shy in bed? Awkward - yes, by default, he’s lanky and tall and definitely not very smooth. But Mike knows what he wants and he can tell when Max wants the same too. They can bicker back and forth a lot, but there’s nothing like the bliss of sex in a relationship to make everything right. That’s one of the things I really like about sex. The vulnerability it entails - It changes how you see yourself and behave before your S/O.

They’ve gotten to know each other very deeply, and one night Mike just lets it slip out. Maybe they were in the middle of an intense section and Mike is so into the way Max is riding him he begins to babble as he gets close to his climax little words like “Fuck, yeah - please, yeah, Mom-” and clamps a hand around his mouth so fast Max stops moving on him altogether.

They both freeze and Mike turns bright red, his eyes watering in complete embarrassment and shame - because it’s such a vulnerable moment he can’t just deny what it really was. He almost called her mommy. Max is quick to reassure him, taking his hand in hers and kissing his knuckles, petting his hair. “You’re calling me what now?” She raises her brows at him, and even though her tone is the same she uses to mock him, her eyes are soft and she has a sweet little smile tugging at her lips.

Mike just closes his eyes shut, and begins to rub at them with both of his hands, breathing deeply and appearing to be devoid of any emotion as he lies underneath her. She waits, but Mike just stays completely limp. “Babe,” She calls, making him look back at her with a hand on his chin. She never uses pet names, because that’s not really their thing. But sometimes, they were necessary. “Mike, look at me, baby. It’s okay. I like it.”

She puts both hands on his cheeks, kissing on him until Mike makes a small sound. When she pulls back he’s looking up at her, eyes glassy and wanting in a way Max has never seen before. Mike looks so pliant it makes her breath catch in her throat. “Are you okay, baby?” She asks, playing with the soft curls at his nape.

Mike nods, blinking slowly before taking a shallow breath in. “I didn’t mean to.” He whispers, staring up at her.

“It’s okay, I promise.” She smiles reassuringly. But Mike seems different, and she realizes he looks deadly similar to the way he looked the one time they went too hard during a scene, and instead of his so desired subspace Mike was outright dropping by the end of it. He went into subdrop and it freaked Max out to not know what to do to make him feel better. (It didn’t take too long for things to get better again, but the scare wasn’t enjoyable for neither of them.)

They agreed on not doing it again, and with that in mind Max knew she wouldn’t risk having Mike dropping by going too hard on it without discussing it beforehand.

“You’re so good for me, baby.” She praises, and Mike perks up instantly. She kisses him languidly, shivering at the feeling of him moaning against her mouth. “How about we finish this up and talk about it later, hm? You wanna be a good boy for me, right?” She taunts, rocking against him.

And Mike just moans, nodding eagerly with his mouth parted. She takes care of him then, and they discuss it a while later.