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‘In my campaigns, if the party wins, then they all live happily ever after.’
‘Happily how?’
‘Well… usually what happens is the party doesn't return to their local village because too much has happened. They've seen too much, so they travel to a faraway land, a peaceful land. Somewhere beautiful with, like, three waterfalls or something. And they all start again, together.’
‘Do you think that could be real… for us?’
‘Yes, of course.’
.
.
.
The Norwegian Sea is especially beautiful in the early spring. It's not the three waterfalls, but in some ways it's even better. That's the first thought on El's mind as she opens her eyes and gazes at the waves hitting the coast in the light of a setting sun. It's still cold outside, but the floor-to-ceiling windows in their living room definitely help to enjoy the scenery from the warmth of the house.
Sleep doesn't let go of her easily. El has been tired as of late, so it's no surprise that she fell asleep right in the middle of the day, lulled by the sound of the waves.
There is a sudden shuffling under the pillow she lies on, so she stirs and turns her head. Will smiles apologetically, putting his book on the side table.
‘My leg fell asleep, sorry,’ he says. ‘Didn't mean to wake you.’
‘You didn't,’ El answers, turning her gaze back to the sea. She is not going to fall asleep again, but she doesn't want to get up just yet. She feels quite content, lying on the couch, her head comfortably positioned in Will’s lap. ‘Where's Mike?’
‘You are concerned it's too quiet, aren't you?’
A small smile appears on El's face, ‘Well, yeah.’
‘Volunteered to do the grocery shopping by his lonely self,’ Will explains. ‘As I was held hostage,’ he adds with a chuckle.
‘You should have woken me.’
‘And disturb your well-deserved sleep? Nuh-uh,’ Will shakes his head dramatically. ‘Your condition gets you special treatment.’
El lets out a small laugh at that and uses Will's left hand to intertwine their fingers.
She never thought she would get a chance to lead a peaceful life after everything she went through… and yet here they are. Relaxing in the living room of their own home. They are far away from Hawkins and far away from the US in general, but that's for the best. When they decided to leave everything behind, they truly meant that.
The settlement from the US government definitely helped. After Vecna was gone, they tried so very hard to keep things quiet and did the easiest thing they could think of. Paid them off. And they took the money because why the hell not? Not like the government could bring back everyone they lost, and what would be the reason to try and bring this whole situation to light? It won't help anyone.
So they took the money and tried to rebuild their lives. And while others stayed relatively close to Hawkins, or at least in the borders of the US, El, Mike, and Will felt like it wasn't enough. That they could never be truly free in the place that held so many of their nightmares.
At first, they told their family and friends that they wished to travel and see the world, but a few years in, it became obvious that they were not coming back. Especially when they settled down and bought the house on the Norway coast. They still visited their family and Hawkins quite frequently, but their life was no longer there.
‘Anyway, so Mike brought me a bottle of wine, some crackers, and a book, and left,’ Will continues, shifting his hand so his thumb can stroke the back of El's hand. ‘He should be back soon with a proper meal, but in the meantime, do you want some crackers?’
‘No, I'm good. Thank you,’ El yawns, shifting her position a bit. It has been very hard to make herself comfortable lately, but she is used to prolonged feelings of discomfort, so she shall endure. ‘Have you talked to your mum?’
‘Yep,’ Will makes a popping sound. ‘She informed me that she and Hopper are coming next month… as well as Jonathan, and Nancy, and Robin, and Dustin, and Lucas, and Max, and Steve… I tried talking her out of it, but there was no changing her mind. It seems like as soon as I said that we are not dragging you on the plane, for obvious reasons, she made up her mind,’ Will sighs.
El looks up at him, picking up on the strange tone of his voice, ‘Haven't you just yesterday told me how much you miss our family and friends?’
‘Well, yeah, but… There is no need for them to cross the Atlantic just to see me.’
‘Will, it's your birthday. Of course, they want to congratulate you.’
‘They can do it over the phone. Plus, I'm only turning 28. Not like it's a big milestone.’
‘You know as well as I do that every year we get to grow older is a milestone in our case,’ El says, and Will goes quiet. Because she is not wrong.
They didn't think they would survive Vecna, but they did. They won. They got away. And even though they put a lot of effort into that, they also got extremely lucky. Many didn't share the same fate.
And perhaps their survival is indeed something to be celebrated.
There is the click of a lock, the sound of the opening front door, and the shuffling of the grocery bags.
‘I'm home, and I brought treats!’ Mike announces loudly, and both El and Will can't help but chuckle at that.
‘In the living room,’ Will calls out, raising his hand in the air just in case, even though their house isn't nearly big enough for Mike to truly lose them.
‘I see you are still holding him hostage, aren’t you?’ Mike says with a big smile, walking into the living room.
‘Just a little,’ El smiles too and then starts slowly getting up in the sitting position with her left hand protectively on her stomach.
Will throws his head back to look at Mike, who is crossing the room towards them, ‘Did you buy waffles?’
‘Of course, I bought waffles!’ Mike exclaims before leaning down and pecking Will on the lips. ‘Who do you think I am? An amateur?’
Will smiles, ‘In grocery shopping? Yeah.’
‘Lies and pure slander,’ Mike answers before circling the couch, kissing El, and then kneeling in front of her. ‘And how are my girls doing?’ he asks, his hands coming to rest on El's distended stomach.
‘Nauseous. A bit,’ El answers, putting one of her hands over Mike's. ‘But that's me. She is probably absolutely fine, considering how enthusiastically she kicks.’
Mike chuckles, his thumb stroking El's belly, ‘I met one of your students today- Ida, I think,’ he reaches into the pocket of his jacket and gets two candies out of it. ‘Here. And I quote, “Én til El, og én til babyen”[1]’
‘That’s very sweet,’ El smiles, taking the present.
Settlement money or not, after a while, it becomes boring to just sit around and do nothing. So all three of them eventually found something they could turn into profit. Will sells his paintings. He is not in any way famous, but he never has problems finding customers, and that's enough for him. El teaches the kids martial arts, and Mike is, in character, a storyteller. Or, well, a writer. As of right now, he only has a few short stories published, but he is working on his first book too, shamelessly using Will and El as his beta-readers.
‘Alright, I need to pee. Again,’ El declares with a sigh, and Mike helps her up to her feet. As she waddles away towards the bathroom, Mike falls on the couch with a tired groan.
‘Everything alright?’ Will asks.
‘Yes, just- had a phone call with my mother.’
‘Huh, you too?’ Will chuckles.
‘Yeah,’ Mike laughs. ‘Shit, I think Hopper is the only one of our parents who doesn't… I don’t know, bring the mood down. El is always all smiles after they talk. And well, your mom- I'm sorry, I don't mean anything bad, but-’
‘She is awesome, but she can be too much sometimes,’ Will agrees with a small smile. ‘Even from over the Atlantic.’
Mike lets out a laugh, ‘I'm sure she means well.’
‘Of course, she does,’ Will shakes his head and then asks, ‘Your mom also tries subtly or not-so-very subtly to find out who the actual father of our baby is?’
‘Yes!’ Mike exclaims in exasperation. ‘Constantly! I swear to God, I think she thinks we know but aren't telling her on purpose.’
Will laughs, ‘Even if we knew, we wouldn't have told.’
Mike reaches out and takes Will's hand, ‘I think it's because they don't get it. They don't get us. But they love us anyway, so there is that.’
Will smiles, and the comfortable silence falls between them until there is the sound of a flush, an opening of a door, and the sound of El's steps coming back to the living room. Mike scoots to the side, and she takes her place between him and Will. Mike embraces her with his left hand as she puts her head on his shoulder and her legs in Will’s lap.
Eventually, Will will find the remote and switch the channels until he finds something suitable to watch. More likely than not, it will be Hotel Cæsar. Mike will get up and make them dinner. Something they can eat in front of the TV because it's Sunday and they are too lazy to actually eat at the dinner table. It might end up being waffles. And El will allow herself to be pampered, and taken care of, and just feel happy with the life they have.
And yes, it's unconventional and perhaps not what others envision as perfect, but it's perfect for her. Perfect in more ways than one.
And it's not the three waterfalls, sure, but she will pick the Norwegian Sea, Mike and Will, their house and their baby over it any day of the week.