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“I can’t believe your parents are doing Christmas on a cruise,” Robin ranted as the pair wandered through the mall.
Nancy had her eyes glued to her shopping list that was only halfway crossed off. She was listening, of course, but her attention was divided by how much she had to do. There were still five gifts left to buy, more wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows, ribbons, tape, gift bags, and–the Secret Santa gift she had to pick up for Steve. Of course. She had almost forgotten.
“Hello? Nance? Are you even listening?”
Robin stopped in front of her so suddenly that Nancy almost ran right into her. She finally tore her eyes away from her list to see Robin turned around and looking at her.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nancy murmured. “You want an ocean view and a chance to look at every single thing on the ship to the point you have it memorized in order for the vacation to be worth it.”
“Hm,” Robin chuckled smugly. “Just checking. Seriously, are you okay? You’ve got that look on your face again.”
“What look? I don’t have a look.”
“The one that tells me you’re very focused.” Robin smiled teasingly.
“Maybe you’re just very unfocused,” Nancy retorted, knowing even as she said it that she sounded pathetic. Robin kissed her, warming the rest of the winter’s chill out of her body.
“Okay babe.” Robin chuckled. “Maybe we should take a-”
“-break?” Nancy shook her head.
“Yes. A break. Eat something. Relax. Christmas isn’t for another two weeks, and the list is already half done. I see so many people wait till the night before to get all of their shopping done in one go. Not that I’ve…done that or anything. Definitely.”
“Fine, on one condition. Tell me who your Secret Santa is.”
“Nope!” Robin grinned. “Come on, Nance, food court is calling my name.”
Nancy was certain that Robin had pulled her name out of the hat on Thanksgiving afternoon when her mother started orchestrating Christmas festivities. She had been acting very strange lately. She also knew that Robin couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, so she was surprised when her lips remained tightly shut whenever she pestered her lover about Secret Santa. It just made her even more sure that she would receive a Secret Santa gift from her. Who else would it be? And just earlier that day, Robin had disappeared into the jewelry store for over an hour. Maybe she was getting that necklace she’d had an eye on for days now. But she had come back…empty handed.
None of it was making sense to Nancy. And she hated it when things didn’t make sense. That wasn’t allowed to happen without her permission. Somehow defeating Vecna had been far less complicated than figuring out her girlfriend’s Christmas shopping. The rest of their trip was uneventful, with Robin being a bit more on the quiet side as they headed home. Nancy decided not to push the matter further. It wasn’t worth starting a whole fight over, and there were bigger hills to die on.
The days leading up to the Bahamas cruise they were meant to take was a whirlwind of even more shopping. It was strange buying shorts and shirts to wear on vacation, but Florida was meant to be warmer, even in the winter, and their port was all the way down there. She’d never been there, but she had heard the beaches were nice, and the people even nicer. And true to form, when they did arrive, Nancy was walking around in nothing more than jeans and a T-shirt, the temperature a nice balmy sixty-seven in the middle of December.
“Oooh it feels so nice !” Robin grinned.
“Robin?” Nancy said. “Who is the Secret Santa that you pulled? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Oh you think it’s you, huh? Like, you’re totally and completely convinced of that fact.”
“I know you can’t keep a secret, Robin.”
“You’d be surprised, Nance. Let’s just get on the ship so we can exchange all our Secret Santa gifts.”
Nancy pursed her lips, but said nothing more on the matter. She wasn’t sure why she had been so obsessed with it all, but it was like it was on the forefront of her mind constantly, this mystery with Robin, and if she didn’t solve it she would explode or something. Or something indeed, for that mental itch just wouldn’t cease no matter what she tried to distract herself with.
“Are you mad at me?” Robin asked suddenly as they dropped their things off in their ocean view cabin.
“What? No, no I’m not mad.” Nancy picked up the small gift bag for Steve then paused, considering her next words. “I’m sorry, I guess I got obsessed over the mystery. Without Vecna, or something to solve, I guess I’ve just been itching for a different thing to fix, potentially.”
“Oh, babe.” Robin kissed her. “It’s okay. I get it. We’re all still messed up in our own ways after everything.”
“Right, of course. You’re right, Robs.” Nancy smiled.
They all agreed to meet up in Karen and Ted’s cabin, which was the biggest suite type available. It would have room for everybody. Mike, of course, was eating when he showed up. He was a bottomless pit of needing food, but remained as much of a string bean as ever, being a teenager. Holly was shooting up in height at just nine years old and came up to Nancy’s shoulder already. She couldn’t believe she was about to be the shortest Wheeler child, despite being the eldest. How embarrassing.
The gift exchange was a blur of surprised exclaims about who got who, and the present they ended up with. Steve let out a quiet thank you at the expensive cologne he had been wanting. Nancy was one of the last ones waiting for a gift. She blinked in surprise when it wasn’t Robin, but Max, who approached her with a wrapped box. She could tell it was a book by its shape, but she was curious regardless.
“Thank you,” Nancy murmured before starting to unwrap the gift.
“I hope you like it,” Max said nervously. “Sorry, my eyes have never been the same, since…so…I hope I got the right one.”
“History of Serial Killers,” Nancy announced. She could feel several pairs of eyes on her. “Thanks, Max. You got the right one!”
She opened the book and a note in Robin’s handwriting fell out. She was quick to grab it.
Meet me. Main deck. 10 pm sharp.
I fucking knew it.
Six hours later…
Nancy paced the deck that was now devoid of any signs of life. There was a mild chill in the air, prompting her to change before making the trek out here. The scent of salt took over her nose and every now and then, the ocean misted onto her face and made her colder. She could see her breaths in little puffs, like she was exhaling clouds. Who knew being on the sea was almost as cold as being at home in Hawkins itself? The weather report said it was meant to warm back up and not meant to get this cold again for the rest of their vacation. She thrived in the cold, though, and knew she was going to miss it when the heat leaked in like a parasite.
Just as she was about to turn back towards the cabin she shared with Robin, she detected movement off in the distance. Nancy paused and waited. She knew that messy mop of hair anywhere. She held her breath as Robin came closer, closer, until they were finally face to face for the first time since the Secret Santa party.
“You came.” Robin smiled.
“You asked me to.”
“Still, it was really nice of you, after all these weeks of secrecy, to still trust me.”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know you drew my own mom?” Nancy smiled. The tension had long since left her.
“Hope she likes the wine.”
A beat of silence. Robin didn’t come here to talk about presents. Nancy knew that. Robin knew that Nancy knew. But she had waited this long. She could wait another minute or two. Robin faced her suddenly, and her expression was more serious than she had ever seen it.
“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, a spark of anxiety striking her in the chest and racing its way through her veins.
“Nance,” Robin murmured, pulling a small velvet box from her pocket.
“What’s that?” But Nancy already knew the answer, she just couldn’t believe this was happening.
The ring inside was the exact one she had described to Robin two months ago when they were at the mall. Small, silver, not too flashy, with a bit of sapphire in it to bring her eyes out more. And on the inside, the date of their first date engraved for her to remember forever. Every last detail was accounted for. Her eyes stung with tears that she did nothing to stop from falling.
“Marry me.”
Nancy gave her answer, but not in words. It wasn’t long before she pulled the girl into their cabin to make the moment even more special and private.