14. 14: Christmas

A low voice eases her into consciousness that morning.

"El...El...Kid, wake up...El...

It's Christmas morning."

Her eyes shoot open at that to reveal Hopper standing over her, his hand on her shoulder. It's Christmas morning. A rush of joy and giddiness hits her and she breaks out in a grin. It looks like she had been able to fall asleep after all last night, after tossing and turning in anticipation for this day to come. It's Christmas morning!

She bounces out of bed and gives Hopper a big hug around his middle. "Christmas!" she exclaims and he chuckles as he hugs her back. "Yeah, Christmas. Now, get dressed and we'll head over to the Wheeler's soon, alright?" She nods her head, her wild mop of curls bouncing with her enthusiasm and he smiles before he turns and leaves her room.

So this is what it feels like to wake up on Christmas morning. Mike had tried to explain this sensation to her, but she fully understands now. Her chest has a fizzing elation swirling around it and she feels like singing out loud right now. She settles for quietly humming that one Christmas carol about a reindeer she heard on the radio as she pulls on her clothes for the day, smiling when she hears the sound of pancakes being flipped.

They eat breakfast quickly and El can't stop chatting about the day to come. "They said we were going sled-ding near his house," she's in the middle of telling him, as she wolfs down her eggs. "And where are you going to get a sled for that?" Hopper asks, raising his eyebrows. "Lucas said he has an extra. And Mike said I could share his if I wanted," she replies, the butterflies growing stronger as she pictured flying down a hill, clinging to Mike and spending the afternoon with her friends, without a care in the world. When Hopper opens his mouth to retort, as she knew he would, she looks him square in the eye and simply says, "It's Christmas," because this special day is finally here and she's planning on being by Mike's side for as long as she can today, whether he likes it or not.

As they finish up, El runs back to her room to throw on her coat and peeks outside to see thick snowflakes fluttering softly to the ground. Her breath fogs up the window as she gazes at the white blanket that covered the land while she slept last night. She smiles and turns to scoop up the present that's been sitting by her bed for a week, planting a tiny kiss on it as she heads for the door.

The party had agreed not to get gifts for each other this year, since they blew every last penny on games at the arcade and they were still too young to have jobs. But not getting one for Mike wasn't an option in El's mind. He had given her so much and she knew she could never repay him, but she could still try. And besides, she can't wait to see the look on his face.

Hopper's already gotten the car started by the time she walks out of the cabin, her boots crunching on the snow-covered ground, the snowflakes immediately sticking to her hair. He brushes them off of her curls as she climbs into the front seat and she scrunches her nose playfully in return. He flips on the radio and they spend the car ride singing off key to their favorite Christmas carols and laughing when they completely screw up the words.

She can't contain her excitement when they finally pull up to the Wheeler household and she leaps out of the car the second it stops. By the time Hopper gets out of the driver's seat, she's already rung the doorbell, taking a step back and fiddling nervously with her coat sleeves. The door swings open a few moments later to reveal Mrs. Wheeler, who smiles brightly and wipes her hands on her apron. A wonderful aroma seeps out into the crisp winter air and El takes a deep breath in, her stomach growling, despite just having breakfast a few minutes ago. "Good morning Eleanor, it's nice to see you!" she says. She had heard Mike talk about El for so long, that it only made sense to keep her confusion to a minimum and stick with a name that would decrease her suspicion of the nickname her son had given her. Because she doesn't know the full story, and everyone involved plans on keeping it that way.

"Merry Christmas Karen," Hopper says, coming up behind El. "Thanks for letting us crash your party." "My pleasure!" she responds and El is about to ask where her favorite person in the world is, when she answers that question in her next sentence. "Mike's been begging me to have Eleanor over for Christmas since the beginning of this month, if you can believe it." She has no problem believing that. "He's still asleep upstairs, but you're welcome to wait in the living room."

By the time she gets to the word "welcome", El has already entered the house and is headed straight for the staircase, after placing her presents under the tree. She ignores Hopper's protests behind her and silently climbs up the steps to the second floor, tiptoeing to his room. She pauses outside his door, taking a moment to relish in the anticipation of seeing him, because she's here and it's Christmas morning and he's on the other side of this barrier and all she has to do is knock. She lets the excitement fizz and bubble in her chest before finally, she lifts her hand. Knock knock. Knock. Knock knock knock.

There's a brief moment of silence in which she holds her breath, before she hears a sleepy "Come in, El." She happily turns the knob and steps into his room, the familiarity of it making a warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout her. This, and the blanket fort downstairs are hands-down her two favorite places to be. Her eyes land on him laying in his bed immediately and her heart swells at the sight of him still trying to wake up. She shuts the door behind her and tiptoes to his bedside. He flops over from his stomach to his back so he can see her more clearly and yawns, rubbing at his eyes. "Good morning," he murmurs and reaches his hand out to her. She smiles softly and kneels down by his bed, clasping her hand around his as a comfortable silence stretches between the two. Rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand, she lifts her other hand to lovingly brush away the hair that falls over his eyes. He smiles at the contact and watches her through half-lidded eyes as she strokes his hair with her fingers, tracing lazy trails along his scalp like he's done to her countless times before, and finding they way he's slowly blinking absolutely adorable. She wants so badly to curl up beside him and take him in her arms, but there are presents waiting for them downstairs, and she knows if she did that, she'd never want to leave.

She's skimming her thumb along his cheek, marveling at how soft his skin is and making her way back up to his hairline, when his eyes suddenly widen and his body tenses. "Mike, what's wrong?" she asks immediately, panic flooding into her body. But it all fades away when a grin spreads across his face. With an energized tone, he whispers, "Today's Christmas!" and she smiles and nods her head, happy to see his brain has finally woken up fully.

He sits up and kicks off his blankets, just as excited as she was. She quickly pecks him on the cheek, before rising to her feet and saying, "I'll wait for you outside, okay?' "Okay," he responds with a nod and she smiles at him before she heads for the door. "El?" She turns around. "Yes?" "I'm so glad you're here," he tells her with a sincerity that makes her stomach flip. "I am too," she replies and takes one last moment to soak him in, before she exits his room to give him some privacy.

She meant that. She's so insanely glad that she's here, in this house, on this morning, with this boy, and soon with all her friends.

Once he's dressed, he exits his room and takes her by the hand, intertwining their fingers as she practically drags him down the stairs. Her enthusiasm is childish, sure, but no one even thinks to judge her as she takes a seat right by the Christmas tree, sneaking a peek at the presents wrapped neatly underneath it.

Someone clears their throat. "Merry Christmas to you too, El," she hears and she finally notices Dustin and his mom are sitting on the couch. She grins and stands up, going to hug her friend. "Merry Christmas Dustin," she replies and as soon as the words are out of her mouth, the doorbell rings. Pretty soon, the Byers' are piling into the house, followed quickly by the Sinclair's, who have brought Max with them. It all happens so fast, but suddenly, everyone she cares about is standing in the same room, chatting away with one another. She's giving out hugs left and right, talking with everyone she can and soaking in the cheerfulness that comes with this day.

After a while, she finds herself beside Hopper and discreetly tugs on his sleeve. When he glances down at her, she says, "Presents?" because they're just sitting there under the tree begging to be opened and she's getting impatient. He sighs and ruffles her hair, but when he says nothing, she adds on, "Please?" "Okay, kid," he finally replies and calls into the crowd, "El's ready to open presents, does anyone else want to?" "Is that even a question?" is Max's immediate reply and the party scrambles to the tree while everyone else slowly finishes their conversations and finds a seat around the living room.

The next half hour is organized chaos as gifts are exchanged, wrapping paper is thrown, kids are screaming when they see what they got, some tears are shed when heartfelt cards are read and hugs that could classify as tackling are given out of gratitude.

However, no one could have possibly been more excited than Michael Wheeler when he opened an Atari. El hears his cry of enthusiasm and rushes to his side immediately to see what he got, only to peer at the box in confusion as the rest of his friends congratulate him like he just won a prize. "It's a gaming system!" he explains quickly to her, before he goes to thank his parents profusely. "Just wait until you play this, you're gonna love it!" Will says to her as he reads the side of the box and she smiles at him, already looking forward to learning how this gadget works.

Things are finally starting to die down and Mike is sitting with El in the corner as they flip through the "Everything You Need To Know About Star Wars" book Hopper had given her when, out of the blue, Mrs. Wheeler says, "Mike, would you like to open El's gift?"

El's stomach drops as she feels her face heat up and her eyes grow wide. She hadn't meant for the rest of her friends to know she had gotten a present just for him and she really hadn't meant for him to open it in front of everyone. Biting her lip, she sneaks a glance at the people gathered around the living room, inwardly cringing at how many of them are just staring at the two of them. She forces herself to look at Mike and is expecting anything but the expression on his face that she finds.

He looks surprised, but she recognizes a hint of something else. He almost looks...relieved and she touches his arm lightly. "M...Mike?" she whispers, her eyes darting around his face. "I...um...I got you something too, El," he says, a gentle smile creeping onto his face. It wasn't like there was a weight sitting in her chest, but whatever bad feeling had settled itself there was now disappearing as she feels herself light up.

They silently come to an agreement just by reading each other that neither of them want anyone else to be there when they exchange gifts, so Mike leans over and whispers "Later?" in her ear and she grins up at him as she replies, "Later."

Later doesn't come until the end of the day, after El has had one of the most amazing holidays of her life. She eats so much food, she feels like she's about to explode, she plays Atari with her friends until her eyes glaze over, and she laughs so much, her stomach hurts. And on top of everything, she's the most relaxed she's been in a long time. No one has any responsibilities to worry about and everyone in the Wheeler household is content right where they are, surrounded by the people they've come to call family over the past couple of years. For a whole twenty-four hours, everyone is focused solely on being with each other and it leaves her feeling loved immensely. These are her people and this is her home.

But the best part is that the day ends with a moment that she will cherish for the rest of her life...

"I don't think I've ever been colder," Dustin declares as the six of them trudge through the Wheeler front door, kicking off their snow boots and throwing their snow-covered jackets on the floor, much to Mrs. Wheeler's dismay. "What about that one time I pushed you into the river?" Will offers with a smug grin and El watches as Dustin's face goes from confusion to horror to resolution. "Yeah, you're right, that was worse. I couldn't feel my fingers for an hour!" he replies dramatically and beside her, Mike rolls his eyes. "You ended up pulling all of us in, remember? It wasn't that bad!" he shoots back at his friend with a grin as they make their way to the living room.

They had just gotten back from the sledding hill, where they had spent their time building the coolest ramps they could out of the snow and racing each other over and over again down the hill, until they were panting from the amount of times they had to climb back up to the top. A light snowfall had begun to descend by then and the sun was threatening to slip behind the horizon, so they had called it a day, walking back to Mike's in a good spirits. Their bodies however were absolutely freezing and the heat from indoors was much appreciated.

"Kids, come grab some hot chocolate!" Mrs. Wheeler calls from the kitchen and they immediately perk up, El especially, having recently discovered the perfection that is Karen's hot chocolate. "Hey El, would you grab me a cup?" Mike asks as he heads over to the fireplace, kneeling in front of it to start the fire. She nods and happily enters the kitchen, where she finds six mugs sitting on the counter, the steam rising subtly making her mouth water. Slipping in front of her friends, she manages to snag the two with the most whipped cream on them, earning her a round of good-natured teasing from the rest of the gang.

The fire is crackling and the lights have been dimmed when she returns to the living room, making the Christmas tree cast a gentle glow on the walls. With the snow falling outside the window, it looks like something off of a postcard.

Mike has settled himself on the couch with a thick blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders and he smiles when she enters the room, beckoning her over. She hands him one of the mugs she's holding, but is surprised when he sets it down on the coffee table in front of the couch. He looks back up at her and, clutching the end of the blanket, stretches out his arm to create a space for her to snuggle up against him. She smiles and happily accepts his invitation, sitting down beside him and he wraps his arms, as well as the blanket, around her. But before he fully pulls her against him, he gives her a line of soft, tender kisses, starting at her shoulder and slowly pressing his lips along her neck, ending with a peck on her cheek that makes her shiver and his actions warm her up quicker than the chocolaty goodness she's holding ever could.

She settles back against him, pulling her knees up, and he envelops her in his arms, the blanket creating a cocoon for the two of them to rest in together. Her head rests against his chest and she listens to his heart softly thrumming underneath her ear as she sips on her hot chocolate, smiling softly when she realizes their breaths have become synchronized.

They stay nestled against each other like that for a while, gazing lazily at the Christmas tree and listening to the hushed conversations of the rest of their friends. When she finishes the drink in her hand, she levitates the now-empty mug over to the coffee table, enjoying the way Mike chuckles at that and rotates so she can wrap her arms around his chest, burrowing further into his side and he pulls the blanket tighter around them, laying his cheek on top of her head. She sighs contently, wishing she could stay right here forever, knowing full well that if she did, she'd never get tired of this.

After a little while, Jonathan pokes his head up from the basement and calls, "Hey boys! And...girls," he adds on sheepishly. "We're playing Atari down here, you guys want to join?" There's a chorus of whoops and hollers as their friends pop up from their spots around the living room and rush to the basement steps to join the teenagers and whoever else happens to be down there. Mike, however, doesn't even budge. Not because El wouldn't let him, but because he legitimately would rather stay here than go join everyone else downstairs. And suddenly...they're alone for the first time since this morning. There's a content silence, if you ignore the random shouts of excitement coming from the basement, and Mike is tracing lazy circles on El's back when she realizes something. "Mike?" she whispers and he hums in response. "Is it later now?" She tilts her head up to watch a grin light up his face. "Yeah, you're right. It is," he replies, squeezing her shoulders and she kisses the underside of his jaw before he releases her, both of them standing up, El headed for the tree and Mike headed for his room.

They meet back up on the stairs, each of them shyly hiding their presents behind their back. "Do you want to go first?" he asks as they take a seat on the steps and she nods, taking a breath and handing the gift bag to him. She finds she's nervous for a split second as he rustles around in the bag, his hand swimming through the tissue paper, before he finds what he's looking for. The look on his face when he pulls it out lights up her entire world.

It's a picture of just the two of them in a frame Hopper had lying around the cabin. Jonathan took it the night of the Snow Ball and once she found out he had it, she begged him to give it to her, knowing right away she wanted to give it to Mike.

That entire night, their hands had remained clasped together, after they finally left the dance floor, happy as can be. That's the first thing she likes about this picture; they're standing side by side, their fingers laced together. The second thing she likes about this picture is it was taken the split second after he said something to her that made her smile. This moment, forever frozen in time, shows her staring up at him with a smile adorning her lips and he's staring straight into her eyes, with a grin that makes her heart flip-flop, even though it's a picture. They're clearly lost in each other and she's so grateful Jonathan managed to capture that emotion.

"El...I...I love it!" he manages to get out, looking back up at her, his eyes dancing. "It's so...us. You know?" Yes. Yes, she does know. That picture depicts them perfectly and she has wanted him to have it ever since she knew it existed. "Thank you so much, I'm going to keep this forever," he tells her and she bows her head, hearing how truly grateful he was in his voice. "You're welcome," she replies, that fizzy sensation exploding in her body. "Do you want to come choose where it goes?" he asks and she nods her head, taking his hand that he offers to help her stand up.

Once they're in his room, she knows exactly where it should go. She takes the frame from his hand and walks over to his dresser, placing it right beside his science fair trophy, the one with the picture she had pointed to that one day a couple years ago. He'll be able to see it every morning when he wakes up and he squeezes her hand as she beams up at him.

"And...um...this is for you," he says quietly, letting go of her fingers to slip the small black box he's been holding into her hand. He seems nervous, as he immediately starts fidgeting with the end of his sleeves now that his hands are free. She smiles at him to get him to relax, and turns her attention back to the box she's holding. Excitement is swirling in her chest as she finally takes off the lid and...

Her breath catches in her throat. It's absolutely stunning.

Inside, resting on a little pillow, is a diamond-studded hair clip that sparkles when she moves it side to side. On the very end of it is the shiny outline of a heart and, best of all, resting inside that heart is a silver E. It's perfect and she feels a lump from in her throat as she gazes at what she's holding. "Mike," she whispers shakily, unable to find any other words. He says nothing, just picks up the clip and opens the clasp, his eyes landing on a spot just above her ear. Stepping in closer, he takes a lock of her hair in his fingers and slips the clip around it, closing it gently. His fingers brush her cheek as he lowers them. "Beautiful," he murmurs and she doesn't even try to stop the tears that fall from her eyelashes when she blinks. The emotions that are coursing throughout her body right now are overwhelmingly strong and they make words begin to tumble from her mouth.

"Mike, I love you," she blurts out suddenly. She watches as a blush spreads across his cheeks and his gaze turns downwards, a dopey grin turning up the corners of his lips. But it's not good enough. He needs to know the full truth. The extent of her feelings for him are far beyond her ability to comprehend them at this point, much less her ability to put them into words, but she sure as heck is going to try anyway.

"Mike, I'm serious," she says, lifting her hands to cradle his face and return his eyes back to hers. She fights the urge to helplessly lose herself in those deep brown orbs and takes a breath before continuing.

"Your eyes say you don't believe me. Your eyes say you think you're not good enough. You're wrong. You're good enough. You're more than good enough for me. Mike, you're perfect. I mean that. There's a reason I yearned for you for three hundred and fifty three days."

Yearned. That had been her word of the day on Day 89, when the pain of watching Mike call her with tears streaming down his face made her chest feel like it was going to explode and she wanted to touch him more than anything she had ever wanted before. It had hurt, it had hurt so badly. Hopper took notice of her tear-stained face at breakfast the next morning and did the only thing he could think of doing. He gave her a word so she could understand an emotion she couldn't express.

But those days were over. That thought still hits the both of them daily. And it brings a tidal wave of emotion every time, just like the intense one that crashes over her in this moment, and all they want is each other.

"You're my everything. Mike, I love you," she finishes and they can't help themselves anymore. He presses his lips to hers and her eyes flutter closed as she responds eagerly, parting her lips ever so slightly to deepen their kiss. His hands grip at her waist and one of her arms is wrapped tightly around his shoulders, her other hand caressing his face. Their lips move against each other's in a perfectly timed rhythm, matching the other's movements in a way that only they can as they kiss one another fiercely.

When they pull away breathlessly, they stay in each other's arms, El soaking in the sight of the boy in front of her. He rests his forehead against hers for a moment, before she decides she hasn't had enough and swoops in for another kiss. Just as her mouth is about to touch his, he lifts up his hand, and runs his thumb along her lower lip. They're so close that she can feel his breath against her lips as he tenderly whispers, "Merry Christmas, El."

She giggles, pure delight flowing out of her and she wraps both arms around his shoulders. Just before he pulls her in for a long, passionate kiss that will make her feel warm all the way from her head down to her toes, she whispers her response.

"Merry Christmas, Mike."

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! See you in 2018!