Work Text:
christmas in hawkins was always a beautiful time. gorgeous lights hung from homes and bushes, the stores in downtown hawkins had put up their window displays, and the schools were prepping for winter break. there was just one problem: your boyfriend wasn’t there to enjoy it with you. he was in california with his mom and siblings, and felt lonelier than ever. nothing had been the same since that summer, but there was nothing you could do about it. all you had were phonecalls, and even then they charged you per minute for the penalty of being long distance. so you kept to yourself as you worked down at the grocery store, making polite small talk with customers as you bagged their items. most of them wished you a happy holidays as they left and went out to the snowy world, and it was the little things that made you smile.
when you got home that night, you saw a warm plate of food sitting at your place at the table. your mom had reheated a bit of dinner for you, so it was a welcome sight after the long day you had. as you sat down to eat, the phone began to ring, so you got up to go grab it and bring it back to your seat, happy your family had upgraded to a cordless phone.
“hello?” you asked as you stabbed your fork into a broccoli stem.
“hey babe.”
the smile that graced your lips would have been contagious if anyone else had been in the room with you.
“hey jonathan,” you said, bringing the food to your mouth. “what’s up?”
“just wanted to call and wish you a merry christmas. i know i’m a day early, but i know we’ll both be busy tomorrow, so …”
“yeah … it sucks we won’t get to see each other this year,” you said after swallowing.
“it does, i’m missing the white christmases we always have, but we’ll see each other soon, i promise. i, uh, better get going before they really rack up the phone bill, but merry christmas, i love you, and i miss you,” he said.
“merry christmas, i love you, and i miss you,” you said back, and with a sigh, you got up and hung up the phone. sitting back down, the rest of your dinner was a quiet one, and you looked out of the window to see the shining lights of the nearby houses. it was christmas eve, and yet you never been less excited. but as fresh snow drifted down onto the old, you felt yourself smile. a green christmas in california? poor jonathan.
the next morning, christmas morning, you were downstairs with your family. a fire was going, and special was on tv, and the three of you sat on the ground to exchange gifts. the morning was cheery and warm, and the snow on the ground outside was crisp and white, beautiful and fresh. a white christmas like the ones you’d always known. as your father began to clean up the wrapping paper strewn around the room, you heard a knock at the front door.
“huh, wonder who that could be. hon, why don’t you go answer it?” your mother asked. arching a brow, you got up from the floor and walked to the front door, and when you opened it, you nearly screamed.
“merry christmas, beautiful,” jonathan said, holding his arms open for you. you practically threw yourself into them and hugged him tight, all while he laughed and kissed your temple.
“what the hell? what’re you doing here?” you asked, snuggling into his hold.
“well, i didn’t wanna miss christmas with you. none of us wanted to miss christmas in hawkins. we actually got in last night, we’re staying with the wheelers,” he said.
“so when you called…”
“i was just a few houses away. was i convincing enough?”
“yes!”
he laughed and you brought him inside, where he shook hands with your father and gave your mother a hug. he took off his jacket and gloves, kicked off his shoes, and the four of you sat down at your table, where your mother had set out a delicious christmas breakfast.
“it was nice coming back to snow, too. missed it out there in cali,” he said, giving you a nudge.
“know i’m gonna start to wonder what you missed more,” you teased, and he grinned before giving your hand a squeeze.
“it’ll always be you that i miss more. even if i have been dreaming of a white christmas since december first.”