The Perfect Christmas Gift
By Nina Gatsby
Disclaimer: I do not own Captain Planet and the Planeteers and have no intent on profiting in any way from this. I just wanna see Wheeler and Linka together.
It was Christmas time again. It always seemed come faster and faster every year. And this time it was time to think of a gift for Linka too. Celebrating Christmas in Hope Island would be a first this year. The Planeteers were always so busy that it wasn't unusual to spend Christmas on a mission in the middle of some strange country or whatever. Any other holidays and birthdays too, for that matter. There were those two times each member of the group got to go home, but that didn't really count as celebration for Wheeler.
Christmas at his parent's for the Fire Planeteer meant enduring yet another fight with his dad, once more disappointing his mom for not being able to stay quiet and be patient like he would promise and then going to some party and crashing at a friend's apartment somewhere - not very Christmassy. But this year, their sixth year together as a group, someone thankfully noticed that even though their bond as friends seemed to only grow as time went by, they had never really properly celebrated any holiday together. They decided it was about time they had a party in Hope Island and Gaia gave her blessing for the event. That was the reason Wheeler was yet again stuck not thinking of anything else but Linka again.
It wasn't exactly just because of the Christmas party. If you ever wanted to bet on it, saying he was thinking about the Russian Planeteer would certainly be classified as a sure thing in any given day. It had started as mutual physical attraction from day one on Hope Island - Linka could deny all she wanted but she came this close to kissing him on one of their first missions together. But back to that first day, all he could think about was what a babe! That didn't last long. Not because he didn't still think she was a babe, but because from that first day he could see how smart, courageous and kind she was, and that's when he started being attracted for her for those qualities even more than her looks.
She was so much more than just a stunning first impression could give you, and everyday Wheeler thanked his lucky stars for anything he'd done in that young Brooklyn life he had before that made the Fire Ring select him to spend then following years next to what he discovered was the girl of his dreams. Cheesy, right? Yep, he learned, love could be cheesy, but it was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt. Not that anyone else – besides Linka, hopefully – would ever know he could be so soft.
Love. What had started as an innocent flirt with a beautiful girl that first moment on that first day had definitely become love over time. And it didn't take long too. There he was minding his business one day, just, you know, liking Linka and obsessing about her, and trying to get her attention or receive any form of affection from her, and then all of the sudden he realized there he was loving Linka. He was laying on his bed at night, trying to sleep without success because of his thoughts when the realization hit him like lightning and changed everything. He knew he liked her. But just then he became aware he was in love with her - and that he had been for a while.
She seemed to like him also. They even did manage to kiss once, when she thought they'd never see each other again but things didn't work out then. She didn't say anything when she came back to Hope Island later that day and he didn't have the guts to risk saying he loved her and being rejected. He thought that was a given from his decision to stay in Russia to check on her. He thought she'd understand. Maybe it wasn't that obvious, after all. Or maybe she was attracted to him but didn't like him that way? Maybe she didn't love him back?
So it was their sixth year together as Planeteers, it was Christmas, and they weren't teens anymore. Six years was a long time. Most of the eco villains were behind bars. God only knew how much more this job would last. But at their twenty's it was only a matter of time until one of them decided they wanted to study, or work somewhere else or even start a family, maybe? It was his worst nightmare: Linka finally deciding she wanted to do something else with her life that didn't include him.
Reflecting about all that as he went from store to store with Gi as she tried to find a gift for who she got in the Secret Santa game, all these thoughts were starting to make Wheeler nervous.
"How much more time it will take for you to find this damn gift for Kwame?", he asked Gi, impatient.
"Look who's talking! Don't forget you're doing this as a condition for me giving my real Secret Santa up for you!" the Water Planeteer answered back "And you'll still have to pay, so be happy I'm good at looking for the best prices".
Wheeler rolled his eyes and sighted, defeated. It was useless trying to start a fight with Gi when he knew she was right.
"And if you ask me, what you should be doing right now instead of being grumpy is trying to find a perfect gift for Linka".
It was the American's time to smile - damn if he was going to let her notice how nervous he really was.
"I just have to buy some crap she wants now so I can give her in front of you guys, besides I already got a gift to give her in private".
"Some mystery! I like it! Now all that's left is repeating that to yourself in front of the mirror until you sound confident for real", she poked fun at him, but it had the opposite effect. His smile was now gone. "Come on, Wheeler! It was a joke".
"Yeah, yeah. It's all a joke".
"I've never seen you so shaken before", she turned to her friend with a sympathetic expression this time "Look, you know I love you both and you know Linka is my best friend, ok? You do understand what this means in girl world, right?"
"I guess" he answered, a little confused.
"It means I want what's best for her, so the fact that I'm helping you with this means a lot, ok?"
His confident smile was back immediately, as Gi continued "Now chill out and answer honestly: would Kwame prefer the jade green garden tool set or the emerald green garden tool set?"
After what seemed like hours, Gi finally decided for the forest green garden tool set and was in line to pay. Wheeler was wandering through the store, still not knowing what to give the beautiful blonde girl he was in love with when his eyes came across a beautiful pendant in the jewelry section. It was a bird with wings that looked like they were on fire, a phoenix. Now that was a excellent fake gift because it didn't look like it at all. This is because it reminded me of you and me and how great we are together. And they were.
You know that opposites attract tale? It was kind of like that with him and Linka. Well, for starters they were an American and a Russian Planeteers and their countries were still involved in the Cold War when they met. And talk about cold concerning Linka when it came to showing personal feelings, while he was naturally charismatic and friendly with others. He was born in the world's most famous metropole and she was from a small miner village. One could easily be confused as to why he thought they'd be such a good pairing other than for just the attraction itself. Opposites might attract but how would it work in the long haul? For he was very young and had a lot to learn in life still, but he'd decided some time ago that if he managed to convince her to give him a chance, he'd be all in.
Looking a little closer though they actually had a lot in common. They both liked living active lives, dedicating themselves to work. They both liked protecting the environment! But, really, it was especially true when it came to the important stuff. They were very honest and helping toward others, knew the value of the friendship between the planeteers and having people who liked you for who you were. And from their upbringings – Linka with the loss of her parents and Wheeler having a difficult time with his dad growing up -, they knew the importance of family and hoped they'd have one of their own someday. Hopefully together?
A few days passed and it was time for the Planeteers' Christmas party. They decorated the common room and set up a Christmas tree made of recycled materials. The girls had prepared dinner in the afternoon as the boys made sure to clean every room and set the table for later. When everything but the turkey was ready, they all went to their cabins to dress up and come back ready to celebrate together. The three boys got ready earlier, so they were in front of the tv watching It's a Wonderful Life when Gi busted into the room, an adorable sight in her pink dress:
"Let's get this party started, everyone! I've got lots of fun planned for us!"
"Linka's not here yet", was Wheeler's answer.
"Then maybe someone could go get her", the Water Planeteer winked at him, "while we begin with the games here", and then she picked up from a large bag what looked like a big fake belly. "Now this is called 'Santa Limbo'…".
Wheeler laughed to himself and was relieved he couldn't hear the rest of the phrase as he walked towards Linka's cabin, but on his way there he thought of something and fastened his pacing as he changed direction to Kwame's greenhouse, intended to get a rose for Linka. He looked for the Earth Planeteers' tools when he got there – they all looked pretty old and most were broken, he was surprised Gi's gift was actually very thoughtful. Not being able to cut the flower, he made his way to go get Linka empty handed instead.
He breathed a little deeper, trying to gain courage to say something nice to her just then, but there was no answer when he knocked the door. He tried again a few times and was beginning to worry when he noticed the lights were off inside. She wasn't there anymore. Wheeler sighted and cursed himself for losing time, walking back to the common room to find Linka – fake belly over her pale blue dress – trying to unsuccessfully limbo under a stick while the others laughed uncontrollably. He soon joined them.
"Whoa! What happened there, babe?", he asked while pointing her abdomen.
She smiled at him after giving up on the task, her lovely face blushed and her blonde hair down.
"You think this is easy, Yankee? Let me see you try!", she went to grab his hand, dragging him to the middle of the room. The delicate squeeze in his hand just before she let go made up for losing his earlier chance to woo her.
The rest of the night went on with more of Gi's Christmas games that were in fact very fun, making the Planeteers fell like family. Wheeler couldn't help but notice the way Linka seemed happier and relaxed about his trying to be near her, even rushing to hug him in commemoration when she pinned Rudolph's red nose while blindfolded on her very first try. At dinner, he sat beside her, as usual, and they genuinely looked comfortable with each other while talking between bites and toasting to Kwame's speech about the importance of the bond between the team.
Time had finally come to exchange gifts and Earth Planeteer was the first pick to start the Secret Santa game, being their leader. Everyone had to say nice or funny things about the person they bought the present to so the others could guess who that was, then that person had to continue doing the same until everyone had been gifted.
"The person I am giving this for is one of the wisest people I know. This person is always kind and has the biggest heart and-"
"Ma-Ti!", Gi and Linka shouted in unison and they all laughed as he nodded yes.
Kwame proceeded to give Ma-Ti a hug and his gift, a new blue volleyball for him and toy for Suchi.
"My Secret Santa is someone that-", poor Ma-Ti tried to start but was stopped by the others laughing very loud.
"No, Ma-Ti! You are the Secret Santa!", Wheeler managed to speak after a couple minutes, "That's why who you got doesn't know the gift is coming from you!"
"Oh! Ok!" Ma-Ti gave in to the fun as well, then turned to Kwame "I hope that did not change your opinion of me, my friend!", and all the Planeteers started laughing again.
The Heart Planeteer wasn't very successful keeping the mystery after the commotion over his "Secret Santa" and everyone soon guessed it was Gi, who got a wetsuit decorated with dolphins for when she went surfing. Gi then described Kwame and he was actually very surprised and happy to find out what it was.
"New garden tools! How did you know, Gi?", Kwame said as he held them excitedly, hugging her right after.
As everyone else but Wheeler and Linka had exchanged gifts, all attention turned to them. Wheeler looked into the pretty Russian's eyes with a big grin as she blushed heavily and returned a timid smile. He then turned to Gi, who was looking at both of them with a devilish smile before yawning loudly and theatrically.
"Oh, my! Look at the time boys!", she said to Ma-Ti and Kwame, indicating the door with a movement of her eyes. "I'm suuuuper tired, it's totally past our bedtimes, right?"
The boys exchanged looks, getting the message and fake yawning themselves.
"I am sorry but I have to go to sleep as well, my friends", Kwame excused himself to the couple, "I have to get up early to use my new tools".
"I am very sleepy! Good night!", Ma-Ti followed his friends to the door.
Their friends' bad acting techniques ended up braking the ice and when the Fire and Wind Planeteers' eyes met again, they started laughing hard again, Linka's face as red as it could get.
"That was subtle!" Wheeler said scratching the back of his head, feeling brave and nervous at the same time.
"Bozhe moi!", Linka smiled, feeling her heartbeat accelerate.
"I guess now you know I am your Secret Santa", Wheeler said holding the little rectangular box containing the pendant in a necklace to her, "And I'm a great Santa, you'll see! I got you two presents, but the other is a surprise".
She took the gift box, opening it.
"Don't worry, you can return it if you don't like".
"It is beautiful! Thank you, Wheeler! I would never return this" she smiled and closed the box while taking a breath to gather courage to continue talking "I have a confession to make, Yankee. I had to trade with Ma-Ti to get to give you my gift".
Wheeler's mouth opened wide as he almost could not believe what he heard.
"It is just, I had it made before we decided to do the Secret Santa game", she offered a squared box carefully wrapped in red and gold by herself.
Wheeler opened and his pulse sped up abruptly when he saw what was inside. It was a snow globe with a few touristic points from America in one side and from Russia on the other, a Christmas tree in the middle and two dolls next to it, a red haired boy and a blonde girl, holding hands in the snow.
"You always say you miss me when we are apart for the Holidays, even if you are in your home, and I know that can be difficult for you. I want you to know I always worry about you. I hope this will remind you of me and this way we will never spend Christmas apart again, no matter where we are", she said, not managing to look at him directly out of shyness, holding her hands together to contain any trembling.
Wheeler's heart seemed to be training for a marathon in that moment. He could only hope that she meant what he thought with that gift. It was so far the best Christmas gift he had ever got in his whole life. There was only one thing in the entire world that could top that and with that in mind, he lifted her chin with one of his hands so their eyes could meet again while the other caressed her face. Linka leaned her head to his touch while offering him the loveliest little smile giving him the last bit of courage he needed to make their lips touch.
I took Linka a couple of seconds to respond, but when she did, he knew that it was different from that goodbye kiss she gave him a few years ago. What started as a slow and tender kiss soon grew with urgency as if they both had been waiting for it desperately, and she offered no resistance when he made a move to deepen the kiss.
Wheeler's hands were now running up and down her back and Linka felt herself melting with his touch, placing her arms around his neck and pushing her body against his so as to leave no distance between them. That was the way she wanted it to be from now on and in the brief seconds they parted for air before continuing she only regretted it had took her that long to make it clear she wanted him too.
The first impression she got from Wheeler had not been very good, since the first thing he ever said to her was a bad pick up line. She may have never dated anyone before she was chosen by the Wind ring, but from what she heard, that was what most boys were like at that age and he seemed to be all the same. Still, she had to admit she was instantly - and weirdly! - attracted to him from that day on. She would never admit to herself or anyone else, but she did almost give in to her urges and kissed him in one of their first missions as Planeteers, almost giving him the only thing she thought he wanted from her. But then she got to know the Yankee's other side.
He was the kind of person that would leave everything behind in favor of being there for a friend. He was devoted to his work as a Planeteer and even if he didn't understand an eco-emergency or an environmental issue sometimes he would make a big effort to learn about it. He was the kind of person that would not hesitate to help those in need, even if he got himself in dangerous situations sometimes. He was the kind of person who, that day when she had almost kissed him in Thailand, was ready to risk his life for her without hesitating. She learned all these qualities and many more as the years went by and one day she suddenly realized he was the kind of person she could not only like, but love.He was the person she loved.
She was ready to let him know everything she felt for him, even though the need to kiss him and feel him so close was getting the best of her. It was only when they got to the couch and Wheeler's hand started traveling up her thigh from under her dress that she experienced a moment of clarity and remembered that.
"Wait…!"
Wheeler took his hands from her and stiffened.
"I'm sorry, Babe! I shouldn't have done that!", he said with fear in his voice, thinking he'd been stupid and too fast or that maybe he misread the meaning of the gift and was about to be rejected again. But she moved her hand through his red hair and smiled at him.
"You do not need to be sorry, Yankee. It is just, there are things that I need to say first if we want to get to that point".
It was the second time that night that his jaw dropped and this time she laughed with his expression. And he'd thought he would be the one surprising Linka that night. He moved from being over her to sitting by her side and taking her hands once again.
"Ok.", he smiled again, "I had somethings I wanted to say to you tonight too, actually. That's why I traded with Gi so that I could be your Secret Santa".
"Bozhe moi, Yankee! What a couple we make!", she laughed and saw his grin grow wider with her choice of words. "I do not like to cheat in these games, but I wanted a special way to tell you this and it is our first time celebrating Christmas together… Christmas is not celebrated in Russia like it is in America, but I know how important it is to you and how you told me you never got presents from 'Santa' because of your father's behavior. That is why I decided I could not wait anymore to tell you what I have known for a very long time but I was not brave enough to make it clear until now. Maybe it is because I had never felt this way before. I think it is because I was afraid of what I felt and afraid that we were so young at first and had a very important job to do. I kept trying to convince myself that you would not take this seriously and every time you flirted with someone else I almost gave up-"
"I didn't really mean any of that, I'm sorry, Babe."
"I know. I think I have always known because for every time you did that I can think of countless things you did and said to me that showed your affection. I just could not admit it to myself because I was not ready for the way you make me feel. But I am now, if you will have me?"
"Linka, all I ever wanted all of these years, since the day we met, is to be with you. I recognize I could have behaved better but all those times I flirted with some random girl in front of you I was trying to get your attention and trying to make you give me any indication that you felt the same. You wanna know what was the other gift I wanted to give you tonight?", and as she nodded, he took a big red bow from a box hidden under the Christmas tree and placed it on his head.
"You?", she asked surprised, with a smile.
"Yeah, if you'll have me. And I don't mean that in an overtly confident way, I mean I'm yours, Babe. All of me. I wanted to let you know that. I didn't even want to push you into anything, I just wanted to let you know that 'coz I can't keep it to myself anymore and if we ever went on separate ways and I never had the chance to tell you it would've been my biggest regret. I know that what I feel is forever so even if you didn't want me I just wanted you to know that. I love you, Babe".
"Yankee, I am yours too…", she almost whispered, tears of joy starting to roll on her face, and then she crossed the space between them and kissed him again, trying to make him feel all the love she had for him. She felt the corners of his mouth turning into a smile and when they parted, she made sure to say it.
"And I love you, my perfect Christmas gift."
"You know, I loved the gift you gave me too, but if I have my way from now on we'll never spend another Christmas, holiday, birthday or whatever special date you can think of not being physically together."
"I agree. So…", she said with a little laugh and then pointed to the red bow on his head, adding playfully "Do I get to unwrap my gift?"
"Well, it's yours, so you can do whatever you want with it".
She got up from the couch and held his hand while walking with him in the direction of her cabin, a little nervous but sure that they were only starting the rest of their lives together.
A.N.: I used to write (not about W/L, though they were my first OTP) but it felt like a lifetime ago when I did. RL got in the way, but then, when I needed something to make me happy, I went searching this couple and found wonderful, joyful fanfiction from a few authors, but my favorite ones have the ones that moved me the most. So I humbly dedicate this to them. Thank you so much and happy holidays. xoxo