Mileven Stories

Happy Anniversary (2003)

Only a month left until Stranger Things 3 arrives! To celebrate, this is a very fluffy anniversary themed one shot that I have written to fulfill a brilliant request from one of my bestest and most lovely friends, breathless_writer. I hope you all enjoy this!
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NOVEMBER 7th, 2003. PRESENT DAY.

Mike Wheeler had always been one to conjure up the most romantic gestures. He had the tendency of buying his partner gifts on unplanned whims; just purchasing objects that made him think of her out of sheer randomness.

With that being said, to Mike, his and El's anniversary was like the Super Bowl.

He went out of his way to arrange stunning plans and presented meaningful gifts to symbolize the overwhelming amount of love he withheld for Eleven in his heart. For some reason, he felt it was necessary to shower his girl in thoughtful gifts as frequently as possible to always remind her of how much he admired her.

On the other hand though, El was more mellow about anniversaries. She valued each waking moment with her husband and felt that simply spending time with one another was enough of a proper celebration. She always felt badly for not going as over the top as Mike had, but he continually assured that her mere existence was more than enough of a gift for him.

Keeping that in mind, it shocked both of them when El delivered the best anniversary present ever.

November 7th, 2003 — the day of their twentieth anniversary as a couple and tenth wedding anniversary brought the biggest surprise of them all. Theodore Sage Wheeler was a tad under seven pounds on that date when he was born. He was not expected to arrive until the first week of December, however, it seemed as though he desperately wanted to be apart of his parent's private milestone.

Nobody was around for the day of Theo's birth. In fact, the party had all planned last minute business trips for this window of time to assure they were present for when El's labor began. To top it off, Joyce and Hopper weren't even able to be there as they had taken Mike and Eleven's three other children on a weekend trip so that the couple could spend their anniversary in solitude. While it was unfortunate that they all couldn't be in attendance for the grand arrival of baby Wheeler number four; their absence had actually helped in making this the most intimate delivery for the couple yet.

Mike was sat behind El with his legs stretched out on either side of her body; which also happened to be the exact spot he was located at during the birth. In truth, he positioned himself there so he could massage along her lower back when contractions had come barreling towards her in hopes of alleviating some of the pain that was ripping through her body.

His wife was now laid slack against his chest, appearing to have been completely worn out from her hard work. Regardless of how torturous labor genuinely was in the moment, Eleven still had a dreamy smile plastered on her face afterwards as she reflected upon the beautiful experience.

Thinking she had been asleep, Mike was startled when she spoke hoarsely, "this isn't the first time we have spent our anniversary in a hospital."

He grinned at his wife's claim and murmured against the crown of her head, "that was an eventful night. I remember being so worried about you before I got there because I had no idea what was going on."

Eleven blinked up at him sleepily with a small smile on her face, "can you tell me about it? It always sounds better when you tell our stories."

From all of the emotions of the day, Mike felt his eyes prickle with tears at his wife's pure request. Gripping her shoulders and pulling her deeper into the curve of his chest, he began retelling the events that occurred during that specifically uncanny anniversary.