A/N: This third and final chapter takes place in December 1996. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its characters.

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El Wheeler was putting the final touches on the gifts that she and Mike were taking to their family Christmases tomorrow. Their day was booked solid. They would wake up and head to Mike's parents' house for family Christmas morning, as they did every year. Then, they were all going to Mike's aunt's house at noon, something that was new this year. The extended Wheeler family decided to bring everyone together. After that, they were going to Joyce and Hopper's house for the Hopper/Byers family Christmas, and finally, they were wrapping up the evening at Max and Lucas's house with the party.

"When did Christmas become such a chore?" El had asked Mike the previous night when they were going over what time they needed to leave by to arrive at each place. "I feel like I'm going to spend more time worrying about getting from place to place than actually enjoying Christmas."

El had done the Christmas shopping this year. Mike had just graduated with his Ph.D over the summer and had only been at his job for four months. He was constantly busy and was working incredibly long hours each week to make a good impression and provide for them the best he could. They were still living in the same apartment they started renting after Mike had graduated from Notre Dame with his undergrad a few years prior, but they had discussed starting to look for a house in the spring. El and Mike both worked, but Mike was taking it upon himself to cover the majority of what the down payment would be. El worried that he was overworking himself.

It was seven o'clock in the evening on Christmas Eve, and El was not surprised that Mike was not home from work yet. She wanted to have a nice evening with him, just the two of them, before their busy Christmas Day tomorrow. Since all the wrapping was finished, El went into their small kitchen and started cooking lasagna. She figured Mike should be home within an hour, so they could have dinner and maybe some wine before spending some quality time together that they hadn't had much time for recently.

Forty-five minutes later, Mike walked into the apartment looking exhausted. He dropped his keys on the counter and nearly collapsed against El when she wrapped her arms around him to greet him with a hug.

"How was your day?" El asked.

"Long," Mike sighed his typical response. "It smells good in here."

"I'm making lasagna," El said. "Why don't you go change, and I'll have dinner ready in about fifteen minutes."

Mike nodded and walked down the hallway to do just that. When he returned to the kitchen, he walked up behind El and slid his arms around her waist from behind, lightly peppering the side of her neck with soft kisses.

"So what's the occasion?" Mike asked.

El cooked every now and then, but with the hours he was working recently, he was used to fending for himself for dinner if he chose to eat anything.

"I thought we could spend a nice Christmas Eve together," El replied, turning around in his arms to face him. "Some dinner, a little wine, maybe go to bed early tonight."

Mike did not pick up on the suggestive tone and look in El's eyes when she mentioned going to bed.

"An early night sounds great," he sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"Oh," El said disappointed, but she quickly covered it up. "I bet so. You've been working so much lately."

"I know. I'm sorry about that," Mike said remorsefully. "I haven't been home as much as I should, and you deserve better than that. I'll try to make it better, El."

"I didn't mean anything by it, sweetie. I know it's not your fault," El said quickly. "I'm just worried that you're exhausting yourself so much. You need to take care of yourself."

"I have you to do that for me," Mike chuckled and kissed the tip of El's nose. "But I know what you're saying. I'm fine. I promise."

The lasagna was done, so El pulled it out of the oven, and the two of them sat down for dinner together. As they talked about their day and about how fun it will be to see everyone tomorrow, Mike drank two glasses of wine and seemed to relax and unwind since coming home. El was happy to see him less stressed, and she hoped that maybe their night could lead somewhere other than straight to sleep after all.

"Thanks for dinner, babe," Mike said as he wrapped his arms around El's waist from behind again as she rinsed the dishes in the sink.

"You're welcome," El smiled and turned to face him. "I also had something special in mind for dessert if you're up for it."

"I like the sound of that," Mike grinned as he leaned in to kiss his wife.

El closed her eyes and melted into the feel of his kiss, the taste of the wine still on his lips, and the slight buzz that made her head spin.

They made their way hand-in-hand to their bedroom, and El straddled Mike on the edge of the bed. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and when her hands reached between his shoulder blades, El could feel the knots beneath his skin.

"Baby, you're so tense," she said, a look of concern crossing her face as she instinctively started to knead below the back of his neck.

"I'm okay… but – oh shit – that feels amazing," Mike admitted as the pleasure of El relieving some of the tension in his shoulders flooded his body.

"Let me make you feel better," El said as she lifted Mike's shirt over his head. "Lay down on your stomach."

El stood from his lap so Mike could do as she said. He laid back and rolled onto his stomach, and then El crawled over to him. She straddled his hips and gently grazed her fingers up his bare back to the base of his neck.

She started applying pressure gently at first and firmer as she kneaded the tension that had built up in Mike's back and shoulders.

"You're so good at this," Mike mumbled against his pillow.

"Is it helping you feel better?" El asked, and Mike nodded.

El continued massaging him silently, letting him finally relax. When she bent down and kissed the back of his neck, she was surprised when he did not react. El trailed her gentle kisses down his shoulder, but Mike still did not respond to her touch. She pulled back and slid off of him so she could get a better look at his face, and El noticed Mike had fallen asleep.

She sighed as she pushed Mike's hair back away from his eyes. He was sleeping peacefully and deeply, and even though El was slightly frustrated that he had fallen asleep on her, she couldn't help but admire how handsome he was even in his sleep. And of course she could not be upset with him for falling asleep; she knew how worn out he was.

El leaned in to place a soft kiss on Mike's lips, and then she crawled into bed next to him, pulled the covers over both of them, and soon fell into a deep sleep too.

The next morning, El woke up to Mike softly peppering her face with kisses. She smiled and opened her eyes to see his dark orbs looking back at her with an apology shining in them.

"Good morning," El mumbled.

"Good morning. I'm sorry I fell asleep last night," Mike said.

"It's okay," El smiled. "I take it as a compliment on my massage skills."

"Absolutely," Mike chuckled.

"Besides, you clearly needed a good night of sleep," El added.

"Yeah, but I had my hot, tipsy wife on top of me. A good night of sleep could've waited one more night," Mike said, and El laughed. "I'll make it up to you tonight when we get back from Max and Lucas's."

"Mr. Wheeler, are you offering to give me sex for Christmas?" El teased.

"First of all, it's Dr. Wheeler," Mike quipped playfully. "And you know that's not the only thing I have for you."

He rolled onto his back and opened the drawer of his bedside table to pull out a wrapped box.

"Mike," El said as she sat up to receive the gift.

"Open it," Mike encouraged her.

El opened it to see a pair of diamond earrings resting in the velvet interior of the box. Her mouth dropped open as they shined up at her.

"They're beautiful," El said in awe.

"Merry Christmas," Mike smiled.

"I'm wearing these today," El said.

She leaned over to kiss Mike before hopping out of bed and sitting in front of her vanity mirror to change her earrings.

"I guess we should get ready for this long-ass day we have ahead of us," Mike sighed as he flopped back against his pillows. "I just feel like I'm never going to catch up. I'm tired all the time. The one day off I have is still going to be busy as hell. It's neverending."

El looked back to see Mike laying on his back staring up at the ceiling, and she wished she could take away all the stress he was feeling. It was Christmas, and El was worried that Mike would not be able to enjoy himself with as busy as they were going to be.

When Mike got up and left the bedroom to take a shower, El thought to herself that it might be best for Mike if they just stayed home today. They could relax, spend the entire day together, and even pick back up where they left off before Mike fell asleep last night. It would be good for him, and it would be good for them.

Down the hall, Mike was taking longer than normal in the shower. He was letting the hot water hit his shoulders while he stood with his eyes closed. He didn't know how much longer he could keep overexerting himself. Sure, all the overtime was nice on his paychecks, and it was getting him experience in the field and helping provide for El. He had promised Hopper that he would take good care of El, and he would do anything he could to keep that promise. But Mike knew that to really take good care of her, he needed to be there more often. It wasn't just the financial aspect that was important. Mike loved her more than anything else in the world, and he knew that she knew how he felt about her, but he felt like he had not had the chance to really show her or prove it to her in a while. Falling asleep last night certainly did not help that issue. Mike knew he needed to give El the attention she deserved.

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Mike opened the bathroom door to let the steam from his shower out, and he started getting out his shaving cream and razor.

"Mike?" he heard El call from down the hallway.

"Yeah?" Mike called in return.

"Can you come here, please?" El asked.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Mike replied. He left his shaving cream and razor on the sink counter and started down the hallway.

"I have something for you," came El's reply.

Mike furrowed his brow. He knew he saw El's gift for him wrapped up under the tree. What else could she have for him?

Mike pushed open the bedroom door to see El laying on top of the bed, wearing only a lacey red push-up bra, a matching thong, and the diamond earrings Mike had given her earlier. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes bulged in his head as his eyes raked over his wife.

"E-El? What-" Mike cut himself off, unable to form a sentence as he continued looking El up and down.

"Do you like it? I bought these to surprise you," El grinned.

"Well, mission accomplished," Mike breathed. "Holy shit, El, you're so sexy."

El's smile brightened at his reaction. Her confidence boosted from the way Mike couldn't take his eyes off her, and she could already feel herself becoming aroused.

"I thought maybe I could cash in your offer from this morning a little early instead of waiting until tonight," El said. "If you want to, of course."

"I definitely want to," Mike said immediately. "But what about all the Christmases-"

"Already taken care of," El smiled. "I called your mom, Joyce, and Max and said we couldn't make it because you weren't feeling well. If anyone asks, you were feverish and lightheaded."

"Well, that's not exactly a lie," Mike chuckled.

"You've been so stressed lately, and I don't want Christmas to add to that. Let's spend the whole day together – just you and me – in bed, on the couch, watching movies, whatever we feel like doing. How does that sound?" El asked.

"That sounds like the best Christmas ever," Mike replied.

"Good," El grinned, and then she looked suggestively down at the towel that was wrapped around Mike's waist.

Mike followed her gaze and gave her a small smile as he stepped to the side of the bed.

"Why don't you start by telling me exactly what you want," Mike said, his hand toying with the edge of the towel that was hanging from his hips.

"You," El said and bit her bottom lip as she reached out and loosened Mike's towel so it dropped to the floor. "I want you."

She pulled him on top of her and crashed his lips into her own, welcoming his tongue into her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close.

When they pulled back briefly, El looked into Mike's eyes and saw nothing but the love and devotion he had for her that had never once wavered over the last thirteen years.

"Merry Christmas, Mike," she murmured. "I love you."

"Merry Christmas, El," Mike whispered. "I love you, too."

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A/N: That's the end of this little Christmas saga. I hope you all enjoyed it. Leave me a review and let me know. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and stay safe and healthy! Thank you so much for reading!