Archive of Our Own ^beta

It started with Dustin…

Steve usually just parked in Dustin’s driveway and honked his horn. That had changed slightly when he’d actually started using the walkie that they’d given him, but only in that he’d park in the driveway and radio to let Dustin know that he was there. He’d never really been inside of Dustin’s house, and he’d definitely never met the kid’s mother. He was happy that way. He felt weird enough sometimes hanging out with a fourteen-year-old. He could only imagine what his mother must think about it all- if she even knew.

(Hawkins was a small town. She definitely knew.)

That particular day, he’d been the one to invite the kid out himself. He was going to take him for milkshakes, because he’d noticed that Dustin had been awfully quiet since starting high school, and he was worried about him. He pulled into the driveway and honked his horn, then sat back to wait. It usually took the kid a few minutes to come out no matter how he let him know that he was ready.

He was not expecting Dustin to immediately come through the door and stop right at his window. Dustin wasn’t quite dressed- he looked like he still had pajama pants on, and he definitely wasn’t wearing shoes. His hair was more wild than usual, too. Steve gave it a second, but Dustin just stood there and stared at him. With much trepidation, Steve rolled down his window.

“Mom wants you to come inside,” Dustin told him immediately. Steve tensed, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly enough that his knuckles turned white.

This was it. This is when Mrs. Henderson tells him he’s not allowed to spend time with her son anymore. She’d probably call him a creep, or a perv. She wasn’t going to be happy with him, that was for sure. She’d never asked to speak with him before. And Dustin looked just as nervous about it, which meant he probably knew what was coming.

The urge to throw the car in reverse and just run away was strong. He could probably convince Dustin to get in and run with him, but… 

He didn’t want to be the kind of person he knew he was about to be accused of being. He prided himself on being a good role model for these kids, and he was going to continue that for as long as he was allowed to see them. It was with that in mind that he carefully released the steering wheel and pulled his key from the ignition. The sound of the car door opening was like a funeral dirge in his ears. 

“What should I be expecting, kid?” he asked, placing a hand on Dustin’s shoulder as they walked up to the front door together. To his credit, his voice didn’t shake at all. Dustin glanced over at him, giving him a funny look, before he shrugged. Steve let his hand slide off in the movement. 

“I don’t know. She just said to make you come inside for once,” Dustin replied. He sounded a lot less stressed out than Steve had. That didn’t seem fair to him. Maybe he didn’t care? But no, that wasn’t it.

“She gave you no other clue as to what she might want to say to me?” Steve pressed, coming to a stop in front of the door. He made sure to stand just where Dustin wouldn’t be able to open the door without slamming it into his shoulder. He was pretty sure the kid wouldn’t do that to him. 

He was wrong.

“Just come in and ask her yourself,” Dustin grumbled, going into the house without another word. He left the door wide open behind him, knowing that Steve was going to follow him. Steve, for his part, took a few seconds to try to make his hands stop shaking before he went inside. Dustin was, of course, nowhere in sight.

“Steve Harrington, is that you?” Mrs. Henderson called from somewhere out of sight. No matter how nervous Steve was about losing one of his new (best friends) children, he still put on a big smile and made his way into the kitchen with Mrs. Henderson. This was something he knew how to do; parents usually loved him. That is… the parents of the girls he’d dated.

“Yeah, it’s me, Mrs. Henderson,” he replied, stopping in the doorway. She didn’t look angry when she turned to face him. She was smiling pretty brightly, actually. She gestured for him to come closer, and he did after only a moment of hesitation.

“Don’t look so scared, dear. I just thought you might like to wait in here instead of inside of your car, for once,” she told him. “And besides, I’ve been wanting to meet you officially. Dusty talks about you all the time, you know. He likes spending time with you.”

“Oh…” This was the last thing he’d expected. “I like spending time with him, too. He’s pretty cool, for a kid. I hope you don’t mind that I drive him places.”

“I don’t mind at all, dear,” she assured him. “It gives me a break from him constantly asking for things. And if he’s out with you, I know he’s safe. I always worry when he rides that bike around everywhere, especially after what happened to that poor Byers boy. I feel better knowing that there’s someone mature looking out for him. And Dusty thinks the world of you, I hope you know that. You’re his hero.”

“He…” Steve just blinked for a second, and Mrs. Henderson kindly let him process all of that information before continuing.

“He hasn’t had many male role models over the years, and I’m afraid that’s my fault. If he’s ever too much for you, don’t worry about telling him no. We can’t expect you to give up all of your free time for our children, after all,” she continued, smiling softly. She held out a plate of what had to be fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. “Cookie?”

He took one, because he really didn’t know what else to do at that point. As soon as he bit into it, Dustin reappeared. He looked a lot more put together this time, and he tapped his foot impatiently in the doorway.

“Steeeve, we have to go!” he whined, then his eyes narrowed on the cookie in Steve’s hand. “Hey! How come he gets one but you told me no?”

“These are for Steve,” his mother replied patiently. She was transferring them from the plate to a tupperware container as she spoke. “If he wants to share with you later, that’s up to him.”

“You made him cookies?” Dustin asked. His voice was doing something weird that Steve didn’t want to think too hard about. He accepted the container when she held it out to him, even though he still felt so lost.

“He deserves them for driving you around everywhere, don’t you think? He gives you most of his freetime, I think. Do you ever thank him for it?” she asked Dustin pointedly, and the kid actually seemed to be considering it. He turned his eyes back to Steve, and his expression was decidedly less annoyed.

“Thank you, Steve,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. Steve gave him a small smile, feeling more awkward than he’d felt in a long time.

“Any time, kid,” he assured him. He glanced over at Mrs. Henderson, but she’d already turned her attention to her cat. “Alright… let’s get out of here. I think I promised you a milkshake.”

“Yes!” Dustin cheered, running for the door. Steve followed at a normal pace, shaking his head to himself with a small smile. He wouldn’t change his relationship with Dustin for anything, even if it meant more weird interactions with the kid’s mom.

Then there was the Sinclairs…

Steve was just supposed to be going in to help Lucas and Dustin transfer some big project for their next campaign from Lucas’s room to his trunk, but the second he stepped through the front door he’d been stopped by Erica. She had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised, and she wouldn’t budge.

“Erica, I don’t have time to entertain you today,” he told her as patiently as he could. He could see Dustin tapping his foot by the stairs (a habit that he’d developed from watching Robin tap her foot impatiently all the time at Family Video- Steve was not impressed), and he knew that the kid was seconds away from loudly complaining about Steve wasting their time with his talking. Erica didn’t seem to care. Not that he’d expected her to.

“You’re taking me to the arcade,” she informed him. “You owe me, remember? And als, my mom said so.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Steve asked, raising both of his eyebrows. She just stared at him, unimpressed. He was about to repeat the question when Mrs. Sinclair hurried into the room and gave Erica an exasperated sigh.

“That is not what I said, Erica,” she said, gently grabbing her shoulders and pulling her out of Steve’s way. “Steve, if you wouldn’t mind coming to speak with me before you leave with the boys, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” he replied, giving her a charming smile. He was a lot less worried about talking with Mrs. Sinclair than he had been when he’d talked to Mrs. Henderson. Now that he was pretty sure none of the parents were going to forbid him from seeing their kids, he was more curious than anything else. He had a feeling it had to do with Erica, just based on the way she was pouting.

(Not that he would ever say anything about her pouting to her face. He was pretty sure she could get creative in ways she might threaten to hurt him, and he had no doubt that she’d follow through if she could. All of the women he knew were terrifying, even the kids. Especially the kids.)

Lucas just rolled his eyes when Steve finally walked into his room. “Did she ask you about babysitting, then?” 

“Uh, no. Not yet, at least. She asked to talk to me before we leave, though,” Steve replied. “She wants me to babysit you? Don’t I already do that?”

“Not me,” Lucas scoffed. “I don’t need to be babysat. Do you really think of us as just kids like that?”

Dustin turned to watch him, and Steve was pretty sure they were both waiting for his answer. These kids definitely cared about his opinion, and that would never stop baffling him. He shook his head almost immediately. “Dude, you helped save the world three separate times. You’re not exactly kids anymore, regardless of your age. I don’t think you need me around, but I’m glad you let me hang around. It makes me feel better, knowing you’re safe.”

“We keep you around because you’re our friend,” Dustin reminded him pointedly. “You’re part of the party, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve agreed, fighting back a grin. “I think you guys keep me around because I make you look cooler.”

“Steve,” Dustin said calmly, rolling his eyes. “If we wanted to look cooler, we’d spend more time with Nancy. You’re not cool.”

Steve raised a hand to his chest dramatically, fighting the urge to laugh. He knew Dustin was just messing with him, after all. “That hurts. See if I drive you shitheads anywhere now.”

“You will,” Lucas replied confidently. “You don’t know how to say no to us. Especially not Dustin.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly capable of telling you nerds to shove your requests up your asses,” He informed them. “You’re just lucky that I actually like seeing you around.”

“Is it that we’re lucky, or that you’re just wrapped around our fingers?” Dustin asked, smirking. Steve reached over to pull him into a headlock, but he managed to get away at the last second. They were both trying not to laugh by that point.

“Come on, let’s get… whatever this is out to the car,” Steve told them, gesturing to the board that they were standing around. It was pretty small, but there was a lot of intricate detailing that Steve was pretty sure Will had done himself, and tiny figurines seemed to be glued in place on top. He had no clue what he was looking at, but he knew that all of the kids were proud of it. Mike had planned an entire campaign around it.

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed. “Then Mike can stop threatening me about possibly messing it up. I hate it when we leave things like this here. Erica barges in my room too often for them to be considered safe.”

“I don’t think she’s interested in your nerd things,” Steve reassured him.

“Then why does she come into my room?” Lucas demanded, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Steve sighed, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair impatiently.

“Maybe she just wants to feel closer to you. Now let’s move, losers. I do have places to be today,” he answered pointedly. Neither of them looked convinced, but they did shift it into gear and carry the stupid project down the stairs. Steve helped them lay it across his back seat, leaving just enough room for Lucas to squeeze in on the ride over to the Wheelers’ house. 

He’d almost forgotten about Mrs. Sinclair’s request to talk until he turned to climb into the driver’s seat and saw her standing on their porch. “You two shitheads stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t you have places to be?” Dustin complained, but Steve closed the door on him before he could continue to whine. He completely ignored the twin glares that he was sure were aimed his way as he made his way back onto the porch with Mrs. Sinclair.

“I won’t keep you long, I promise,” she assured him. “My husband and I have noticed that you’ve been helping a lot with Lucas over the last… well, the last year or so. We appreciate all of the time you’ve spent with him, and the things you’ve done with him. You didn’t have to do it.”

This was familiar, and he was just as uncomfortable with the praise. “It’s been my pleasure. Lucas is a good kid. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and I’ve mostly just been driving him around and helping him practice his basketball skills.”

“He’s told us,” Mrs. Sinclair nodded. “He’s certain that he’ll make the team this year thanks to your help.”

“I was planning to go watch him try out, although I haven’t told him yet. He’s got a lot of talent. I’m pretty proud of him,” Steve told her with a small smile. Her smile got even wider as he spoke, and he rocked back on his heels. “Was there something you needed? It’s just that I promised I’d get them to the Wheelers’ house, and you know how boys can be…”

“Right, of course,” she agreed. “Erica told me she got to spend a little time with you in July, and I was hoping you might be interested in keeping a bit of an eye on her this weekend.”

“You… want me to watch Erica?” Steve asked. He was glad that Lucas had given him some kind of warning, even if he hadn’t believed it. “I mean, I can. I don’t have plans this weekend.”

“If it’s too much of a bother, you don’t have to!” she was quick to add. “I know how much of a handful Erica can be. She seemed to think that you wouldn’t mind. She’s the one who suggested you, you know.”

Steve softened slightly when he heard that, his smile turning more genuine. They’d been through a lot together, and Steve figured she probably wouldn’t want to see him around. It would be a painful reminder of the trauma she’d faced. Maybe he’d made a mistake in avoiding seeing her around. He’d have to ask Lucas about it privately later, see what he thought about it. But for now…

“I’d be happy to watch her for you. She said something about the arcade?” he replied. Mrs. Sinclair gave him such a grateful look that he couldn’t bring himself to dread this coming weekend.

“That’s what she was wanting to do, but you absolutely don’t have to take her anywhere if you’d rather just stay here. We’ll leave money for pizza, or whatever you decide to give her for food,” she told him. “And if she gives you too hard of a time, I’ll leave the number for her aunt. Mel will come watch her, and we’ll give her a talking to when we get back.”

“I’m not worried. Erica will be the delight that she always is,” Steve assured her, grinning. “Will Lucas be around?”

“We’re taking him out of state,” Mrs. Sinclair told him. “He doesn’t know why just yet, but… it’s his birthday soon, and we thought we’d make this one special. It’s not often that you turn fifteen. Erica didn’t want to come along.”

“I’ll make the weekend just as fun for her,” Steve promised. He already had ideas, and he had a feeling that Erica would be nicer than usual. He’d do his best to make sure she didn’t regret not going with her family. “I’ve gotta get the boys to where they’re going, but I can call later for more details if that works for you!”

“Yes, that’s fine, dear. We can discuss your payment on the phone as well,” she replied, patting his shoulder with a smile. He shook his head quickly.

“Nah, I don’t take payment for babysitting duties,” he replied, already heading back to his car. “I never mind spending time with the kids. If I let someone pay me for it, it feels like… payment for their friendship, you know?”

Mrs. Sinclair had an odd glint in her eyes when she nodded, her smile a little sad now. “Yes, I think I understand what you’re saying.”

Next came Joyce…

Steve managed to keep from having any painful conversations with Mrs. Byers the first night he stayed at her house. Will made him a bed on the couch with the promise that he’d clear off space in his room if Steve wanted to stay in there with him after that night. Joyce bustled around the house noisily, grabbing blankets from a closet and making hot chocolate for everyone who was staying that night. She didn’t corner him, even though she’d made it sound like she was going to yell at him when he’d been on his way inside. 

Will and Jonathan kept giving him thoughtful looks when they thought he wasn’t paying attention. They weren’t subtle about it at all. Joyce, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be looking at him at all. He was completely certain that she was either pissed that he was there, or pissed that he hadn’t immediately come to her when he first got kicked out. Either way, he didn’t say a word to her. He didn’t want to poke a bear, as his mother would have said.

(Thinking about his mother hurt more than he wanted to admit, even though it had been nearly a week since it had all gone down.)

When he woke up the next morning, he found Jonathan in the kitchen making a large batch of eggs for breakfast. He could see Joyce’s door was firmly closed, and Will was sleeping peacefully with his door partially open. He had no clue what time it was. Jonathan mostly ignored him while he fried up the eggs, but as soon as he turned the heat off, he gave Steve his full attention.

“I don’t understand you,” Jonathan informed him, looking very put out about it. Steve resisted the urge to grimace.

“I don’t understand you, either. I didn’t know that was going to be an issue,” Steve replied carefully.

“It’s not,” Jonathan said after a few seconds. “I forgive you, you know. You came over to apologize that night… and we never really talked about it. I have things to apologize for, too.”

“It’s been years, dude,” Steve pointed out gently. “I didn’t think anything more really needed to be said. We’ve saved the world together. I think that makes us even, don’t you?”

Jonathan just looked at him for a while, and Steve started to get uncomfortable the longer he was stared at. Finally, Jonathan smiled at him. “Yeah. I suppose it does. I’m glad you’re here. You don’t deserve to be out on your own.”

“That’s…” he didn’t really know what to say, and Jonathan didn’t press him. Finally, he settled on a small smile and a shrug. “That’s life. But thanks.”

Joyce’s door opened down the hall, but she immediately disappeared into the bathroom. Steve could hear the shower starting up. Another glance into Will’s room showed him still sleeping peacefully. When he turned back around, Jonathan was holding out a plate of eggs as though it were a peace offering. Steve accepted it with a grateful smile and sat down at the table. Neither of them spoke again until Joyce came out to greet them.

“Good morning, boys,” she said softly, giving them both a happy smile. She pressed a kiss to Jonathan’s forehead as she went over to start the coffee. Then, to Steve’s surprise, she made her way around the table to press a kiss to his forehead, too. “How did you both sleep?”

“Great,” Jonathan replied as though this was completely ordinary. Both Byers turned their attention to Steve, as if his answer really mattered to them. That was… new. He blinked twice before actually giving an answer.

“Uh… I slept just fine, thanks. The couch is pretty comfortable,” he told them. Then he took a big bite of the eggs in the hopes that she wouldn’t ask him questions when his mouth was full. He was out of luck.

“Did you manage to get most of your things when… when you left home?” she asked him, pulling three mismatched coffee mugs out of a cupboard over her head.

He swallowed quickly to give her an appropriate response, hoping he didn’t look as embarrassed or dejected as he felt. “Yeah. I got all of the important things. All the rest are just… just things, you know?”

She gave him a soft look that made him pretty certain that she knew exactly what he meant. He refused to look over at Jonathan; he could feel the sympathy radiating off of the other boy. “How do you take your coffee?” she asked, changing the subject abruptly.

“Just black,” he replied, glad for the change. He’d never been a huge fan of talking about his feelings, and he felt like he’d been doing a lot of that lately. 

“Black?” Jonathan echoed, wrinkling his nose. “How can you stand the taste? It’s so… bitter.”

“Black like my soul,” Steve answered, grinning. It was something he’d definitely heard Hopper say before he was fully awake at the station. Jonathan rolled his eyes so hard that Steve was worried he was going to hurt himself, but Joyce let out a quiet laugh, and that made the joke worth it.

“Can I have some?” Will asked as he slid into the seat beside Steve, making him nearly fall out of his own chair. He hadn’t heard the youngest Byers get out of bed.

“You know the answer to that,” Joyce told him firmly, but she was still smiling. “I’m only giving it to the other two because they’re both adults who can buy it for themselves when they leave here if they choose to.”

“Coffee stunts your growth,” Steve told him, reaching over to ruffle his hair with a smile. “You’re already the shortest of the group, Byers. Do you really want to risk letting Mike tower over you for the rest of your lives?”

“No!” Will said quickly, narrowing his eyes in irritation. “And don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” Steve said, holding his hands up in surrender. There was no hiding his bright grin, though. He was a little surprised to look up and find Joyce watching the two of them with nothing but fondness in her eyes. There was no trace of the anger from the night before, and Steve wondered what had changed. Was it just that she’d needed time to cool down? When his father was that angry…

(Thinking about his father was painful in a different way, and it made him want to rub spots on his arms that were definitely still a little bruised.)

“What time do you boys need to be at work?” Joyce asked them, passing their cups of coffee over. Steve took a drink of his quickly, letting Jonathan answer first.

“Not for a few hours,” Jonathan shrugged, glancing over towards Steve and Will. “I was going to drop Will at the Wheelers’ house before I go in, so we’ll probably leave in like an hour.”

Steve glanced over at Will to see that he was smiling down at his plate, but he couldn’t really think about what that expression reminded him of when everyone was waiting for his answer. “I’m supposed to be there in an hour and a half, but Hopper told me last night that he’s not really expecting me to come in at all.”

“Are you planning to go?” Jonathan asked, earning a glare from his mother. Steve didn’t mind, though.

“I think so. I’m not actually feeling bad, so there’s no reason for me to skip work,” Steve shrugged. He took another drink of his coffee, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

“I’d like to talk to you before you leave, if you don’t mind,” Joyce told him softly. Steve looked up to see her watching him with an unreadable look on her face. He nodded after a second. “Do you need to borrow clothes today?”

“No, I have everything I need,” Steve assured her. She gave him a small nod, then carried her empty plate to the sink. When she didn’t say anything else, he turned his attention back to his food. He wasn’t sure how long went by before Will nudged his arm gently to gain his attention. When he looked back up, they were alone in the kitchen.

“Are you really okay?” Will asked him seriously. “You don’t have to give me details or anything, but… we’re all really worried about you, Steve. I know we’re younger than you, but you can talk to us. You can trust us.”

Steve’s heart felt full for the first time in years. For the first time since his parents had come home and lost their shit at him, Steve felt like he had a family. People who might actually love and support him. “I’m good, kid. Thank you.”

“Okay,” Will nodded, taking that answer as the complete truth. And Steve was happy to find that it really was. “You can change clothes in my room, if you want. Mom is waiting for you on the porch. She goes out there to smoke, but she thinks we don’t know it.”

Steve gave him a genuine grin, knocking their shoulders together as he carried his plate over to the sink to join the others. He grabbed the bag that he hadn’t noticed being brought in last night and went to change in Will’s room, maintaining a smile without even having to try. It wasn’t until he was closing the front door behind himself that he realized he might need to be worried about whatever Joyce wanted to say to him.

She took a long drag of her cigarette as she studied him, not saying a word. To his surprise, she offered the cigarette to him as she blew out the smoke. He shook his head cautiously, and she shrugged. They stood in silence for a few minutes as Joyce finished smoking her cigarette. When it was out and carefully flicked away, she turned to face him with a completely blank face.

“About last night,” she said, and then she let the words hang there.

“I’m sorry,” he said after only a moment, hanging his head. “I know you said I was always welcome here, but the last thing I want is to be a burden. I was okay, I swear.”

“You were living in your car,” she said softly. He still couldn’t bring himself to look back over at her.

“Yeah, but…” he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. It hadn’t been ideal, but he’d been coping. He could have survived like that for a long time. They both knew it.

“You’ve saved both of my boys several times over,” she said suddenly. “Don’t think that I don’t know that. And how many nights have I come home to find you here with Will, keeping him company so he won’t get lost in his own mind again?”

“Um,” Steve said when it became apparent that she really wanted an answer. “A lot?”

“A lot,” she agreed. “So when I tell you that you are always welcome here with us, what I mean is that I consider you my third son, and I don’t want to see you suffering when I can help you with it. Do you understand that now?”

“Why?” he asked abruptly. His face immediately went a little pale when he realized what he’d said, but he powered on. “I mean… My own parents don’t want me. I’m not smart enough, not good enough, not… not anything. Why would you want me here when you have two sons that you can be proud of?”

The look Joyce was giving him could only be described as heartbroken, and he knew it wasn’t for herself. He couldn’t look at her pity; it made something heavy settle into his stomach. It made him want to run and never look back.

He very nearly flinched away when her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. It was the last thing he’d expected her to do, but he wasn’t sure why. He just wasn’t used to physical affection. (And he wasn’t sure that’s what this was.)

“I’m proud of you, too. Don’t you dare listen to a thing those… those people told you. I have half a mind to go over there and tell them just what I think of them,” she said quietly, holding him tightly. “You are none of those things, Steve Harrington. You are a bright young man who has plenty of talent, a huge heart, and more courage than I have ever seen a single person possess. And do you know what else?”

“... What?” he asked helplessly, feeling tears start to fall down his cheeks. He couldn’t help it. He burrowed into the hug, burying his face in her shoulder as he cried.

“You are the best damn babysitter I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,” she told him, sounding like she was smiling. It got a laugh out of him, at least.

“Hell yeah, I am,” he agreed. They both pretended that his voice wasn’t shaking. And if Joyce held on extra tightly for a few more seconds before she let him go, neither of them said a word about it. “Thanks.”

“You never have to thank me. Just let me take care of you,” she told him gently. It took him nearly a full minute, but he nodded. She reached up to wipe his tears away, then tugged him down to press a kiss to his forehead in a way that only mothers can pull off. Then she let him go, watching the whole time as he climbed into his car and pulled away from the house.

He brought home pizzas that night, provided by Hopper right before the end of his shift. They were all waiting for him with smiles, and he knew that he’d made the right decision in coming back and not running away. And if Joyce came back out after everyone had gone to bed to tuck him in, neither of them mentioned it in the morning. He wasn’t used to motherly affection, but he was fairly certain that Joyce was going to change that.

He couldn’t find it within himself to be upset.

And then the Wheelers…

Mike had invited him to their campaigns exactly two times since they’d met. The first time, he’d had to turn him down because he was supposed to be at work when they planned to play. The second time, Mike must have asked Dustin what his schedule was, because his day was wide open. He had no other excuses (other than just not wanting to play, which would hurt and insult every single one of them), so he agreed to be there.

Nancy opened the front door, and wasn’t that just… perfect. She wrinkled her nose at him, looking him up and down in confusion. He could hear someone behind her (probably her mother) asking who was at the door, but she was ignored.

“What are you doing here?” Nancy asked. It came out sharper than she probably meant it, and she pursed her lips in the way that Steve knew meant she hadn’t meant to say whatever she’d said. It was an expression she used to wear a lot around Tommy and Carol. Steve didn’t miss it.

“Your brother and his friends invited me,” he informed her almost gently. He really didn’t want to argue or fight with her today, and he knew he needed to make it immediately clear that he wasn’t here to talk to her. He was willing to bet that her defenses were up because she expected him to be begging her to take him back. (He’d like to believe that he’d never stoop that low, but he’d never forget that Henderson had been the one to stop him from making a fool of himself by doing just that.)

“... Really?” He tried not to let her incredulous tone hurt, but it was hard. He wasn’t sure if she was surprised that he’d been invited, or shocked that he’d accepted the invitation.

“Hey, they insisted. So here I am. Uh… are you going to let me in?” he replied, trying to give her a calm smile. Her eyes narrowed again, but she stepped aside to let him in. He was very careful not to so much as brush against her arm as he entered the house. He might always love Nancy, but he wasn’t in love with her anymore. He hoped that he’d be able to show her that was the case.

“They’re in the basement,” she told him shortly, already halfway up the stairs to where he knew her bedroom was. “Tell them to keep it down.”

“Sure thing,” he agreed, heading for the kitchen. That was where basement stairs usually were located, as far as he knew. Nancy had been no help at all in pointing him in the right direction. 

The kitchen was a bit of a disaster, and that was putting it nicely. Mike’s little sister (Hailey? Holly? He couldn’t remember) was sitting on one of the counters, and she was completely covered in flour. The floor was dusted pretty heavily with what had to be the rest of the bag of flour, and it was being ignored by Mrs. Wheeler as she tried to use a wet towel to wipe the flour out of the little girl’s hair. It was creating a kind of paste that was definitely making the child laugh.

“Holly, hold still,” Mrs. Wheeler said loudly, trying to hold the girl’s arms down and wipe the hair off at the same time. Steve acted on instinct, hurrying forward to help.

“Here, I’ve got her,” he said quietly, reaching out to both stop Holly from knocking herself off of the counter and hold her arms down so that Mrs. Wheeler might have more success. He earned a very brief look of gratitude from the adult, and a knee to the stomach from the wriggling toddler.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Wheeler told him, wiping more firmly at Holly’s hair. She dipped the towel back into the sink, which Steve could now see was full of water, before returning it to the messy hair. “I didn’t see her sneaking up on me, and… well…”

“Kids can be messy, I know,” he agreed. “Your son is old enough to know better, but he still leaves crumbs all over my back seat.”

She paused to look over at him with wide eyes, and then she smiled. “Right, I forgot you’ve been keeping him occupied. I’m surprised he hasn’t done something to scare you off, yet.”

“He’s got a tough defensive side, but I see right through it,” Steve shrugged. “It helps that all of his friends seem to like me. He’s the one who invited me tonight, actually. The first time he tried, I had to work.”

Mrs. Wheeler gave up on trying to get the flour out of Holly’s hair, but Steve didn’t let go of her just yet. She was still moving enough that he was worried she might hurt herself. She wasn’t complaining out loud yet, though, and Mrs. Wheeler still seemed to be grateful for the help. She pulled the plug on the water and washed the flour-paste off of her hands.

“Mike doesn’t usually let outsiders into his game world,” she said softly. “If he’s inviting you to play with them, he must genuinely like you. He really looks up to you, even if he hasn’t said it out loud. I’ve always tried to trust my kids’ judgment, and I know that Nancy has… liked you. I’m glad that you’re there for Mike, now.”

“I don’t think Mike likes me all that much,” Steve admitted. “It’s Dustin that’s been pushing for me to join the game. Mike just finally caved and invited me.”

Mrs. Wheeler shook her head, giving him a small smile. “You’re very good with all of them, even Mike. I think we both know what he can be like. When I tell you that he wouldn’t have just given in to what Dustin wants, I mean it. I can’t pretend to understand what they see in that game, but it means the world to them. I heard them discussing once that Mike hadn’t even wanted to invite Max to be a part of their ‘party’ because he insisted it was full. Now they’re adding you.”

“Yeah, I… I remember that. I don’t think they’re inviting me into the party, though. Not… not like that,” Steve replied after a second. Then he had to check behind him to make sure that none of the kids had heard him say that he might not be a member of the party. He’d only just gotten them to stop being angry with him for assuming that he wasn’t before.

“Steve,” she reprimanded, placing a hand on her hip. She opened her mouth to say something else, but she was interrupted by the basement door slamming open behind them. Mike came out of it already talking.

“Mom, have you seen Steve? He’s-” Mike’s eyes fell on Steve and he scowled impatiently. “Late. You’re late, Harrington.”

“Technically I was on time,” Steve informed him, but he was completely ignored.

“And what is all over your shirt?” Mike demanded, scowling even harder. “Can you not even dress yourself anymore?”

Steve raised his eyebrows, fighting back the urge to snap at him. “Do you not see your sister in my arms, covered in flour?”

Mike’s eyes finally took in the full picture of the kitchen, and his scowl let up a little. “What the hell happened here?”

“Language, Michael,” his mother chided, and he looked sheepish for exactly three seconds before his scowl returned. “Your sister had a bit of an accident. Steve was kind enough to assist me when I had my hands full. You’re lucky I didn’t call you up to help, instead.”

“It was no trouble, Mrs. Wheeler,” Steve assured her, earning himself a bright smile from the mother. She took Holly from him and nodded towards Mike, holding his gaze for a few extra seconds pointedly. He knew what she was trying to say. See, they were even waiting for you before they started their campaign. Mike wouldn’t do that for just anyone.

“Alright, Wheeler, let’s get this show on the road,” Steve sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he made his way over to the basement door. If he’d looked back, he would have seen Mrs. Wheeler watching with a thoughtful look on her face.

Even Hopper…

Steve hadn’t been spending much time with Robin after moving in with the Byers family, but that was mostly because he was putting in extra hours at the station to earn enough to rent himself some kind of apartment. He didn’t want to intrude in Joyce’s house for any longer than he had to (not that he would ever dare to phrase it that way in front of her- or to anyone who might mention it to her). 

He was glad he’d taken the time to stop and talk with Robin at Family Video after his shift, because she’d had the best idea he’d ever heard. He left the store with a movie he had very little interest in, and a new roommate. He was still smiling to himself three blocks later, when Hopper pulled up on the curb beside him and unlocked his doors pointedly.

It was silent when Steve climbed into the passenger seat, and Hopper didn’t seem to be in any hurry to start a conversation. Steve itched to turn the radio on, but the one time he started to reach for the dial, Hopper pinned him with a glare that could rival Nancy’s. He held up his hands in surrender and sat back for the ride. He was more than a little surprised when Hopper parked at the diner and got out of the car. He had to scramble to follow, stumbling slightly on his way out of the car. (He was pretty sure he heard Hopper laughing at him, but by the time he looked up, the chief wasn’t even facing him.)

“Afternoon, Harley,” Hopper greeted the server, giving her a pleasant smile. She seemed a little surprised to see the two of them together so late in the afternoon, but she didn’t comment on it. “We’ll be having an order of waffles each. I’ll have a coffee.”

“Uh,” Steve said when they both turned their attention to him. “Just a water, thanks.”

Hopper waited until Harley had disappeared in the kitchen to put in the orders before speaking again. “How are you handling everything? I know you’re going through a lot of changes right now.”

“Uh,” Steve said again, blinking at him blankly for a few seconds. Hopper had an amused glint in his eye, but he waited for him to speak. “I’m fine. It’s… different, living with the Byers, but not in a bad way.”

“Mhm,” Hopper replied, still looking too amused for Steve’s liking. “And your job at the station?”

“I’m really enjoying it,” Steve admitted. “More than I thought I would. Turns out I actually like doing things to keep the town safe beyond hitting monsters with a baseball bat.”

“A gun is much more effective,” Hopper agreed. “So this is something you could see yourself doing for a long time?”

“Working as an officer?” Steve clarified. Hopper nodded again, and Steve let himself smile genuinely for the first time since he’d gotten into Hopper’s car. “Yeah. I don’t think I’m going to find a job that I like more.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Hopper told him. He waited to clarify until Holly had placed the coffee and water in front of them and retreated once more to the kitchen. “I put in some calls earlier in the week, and I might have arranged something for you.”

“What’s that?” Steve asked warily, and Hopper got that amused glint back in his eyes. Steve had to resist the urge to rub his arms nervously. It was only years of practice at hiding his emotions that saved him from giving himself away.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard Callahan talk about his days at the academy or not,” Hopper started, and Steve nodded. It was all Callahan liked to talk about. “You have to get a good recommendation to get in, and graduating from the police academy is the only way to be promoted through a station’s ranks.”

“So I’m going to be a rookie forever,” Steve realized, looking down at his glass of water. He glanced up in surprise when Hopper’s hand landed on his arm.

“I put in the calls to give you that recommendation earlier this week. If you want to go, you just have to tell me,” Hopper replied with a little smile. Steve was shocked to note that the smile was completely genuine for once.

“You mean it?” Steve asked, watching him closely. He wasn’t proud of the way that his voice shook. It wouldn’t be the first time that a (father figure) man he’d trusted had lied to him about something of importance like this. His father had liked to dangle empty promises in front of him and snatch them away just when Steve started to get excited. Hopper looked nothing but serious.

“If it’s something that you want, it’ll be yours,” Hopper assured him. “They’ll be more than happy to give you a spot at the academy. You’ll have to work hard, but it’s more physical training than book learning. I know you’ll do well. And when you get back, we can actually name you a deputy at the station, and not just a desk jockey. How does that sound?”

“Like a dream come true,” Steve admitted after a few seconds. He was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he didn’t like the look that Hopper was giving him. It was too… knowing.

“Listen, if you want to think about it, or talk it over with… whoever, it’s okay. I honestly expected you to need a day or two before you made any kind of decision. The slots are open until next week, so you’ve got a little bit to consider it,” Hopper told him. Steve nodded, looking back down at the water again. “That’s all I’m going to say about it. Come talk to me when you figure out what you want to do.”

Hopper dropped him off at the Byers residence as soon as they’d finished eating. (He’d paid for the late lunch, completely ignoring Steve’s protests over it.) Steve hadn’t really felt much like talking, so he didn’t go straight inside. Instead, he made his way around the house to go for a walk in the woods. It wasn’t really the smartest thing he could have done, but he needed to clear his head. He always thought better in the fresh air; that’s why he’d liked having a pool so much when he’d lived at home.

He didn’t make it far before someone fell into step beside him. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye told him that it was Jonathan. The two walked in companionable silence for a few minutes before Steve couldn’t take it any more.

“What are you going to do after you graduate?” he asked quietly, refusing to look over at the other. He could see Jonathan tensing up for a moment at the sudden question, but he didn’t regret asking it.

“I’ve always wanted to go to NYU, but… I don't know. School hasn’t ever been appealing,” Jonathan replied after a few seconds. “I thought a little bit about trying to go professional with my photography, but I don’t think Mom would like that much.”

“Pretend for a second that… that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. What would you want to do, for yourself?” Steve pressed. He didn’t know why this was so important to him… but at the same time, he did. 

Jonathan was definitely watching him instead of where they were walking at this point. Steve still wouldn’t look over; he didn’t want to see the pity on his face. “Photography makes me happy.”

“That’s what I thought,” Steve said quietly, barely above a whisper. He didn’t elaborate further. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“What about you?” Jonathan asked gently. “What is it that you’d do, if nobody else mattered?”

“Are you asking me what makes me happy, Byers?” Steve asked, quirking his lips up into a fake smile. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I don’t know. I’d never really thought about it. Growing up, I was always told exactly how the rest of my life was going to go. I was going to graduate high school, and get into a good college. I’d graduate there with a business degree, so I could take over my father’s company when he retires. I was supposed to marry someone my parents would approve of, and pop out a few kids to continue the great Harrington name. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known.”

“And then they kicked you out,” Jonathan summed up. Steve actually let out a startled laugh at that, and he looked over at Jonathan for the first time. Jonathan looked just as startled that the words had come out of his mouth, and he started to apologize before Steve cut him off.

“And then they kicked me out,” he agreed. “You know… I think it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for me.”

Jonathan looked completely lost, which Steve couldn’t blame him for. He hadn’t known he was feeling that way until the words had left his mouth, but saying them was like knocking a weight off of his chest. His shoulders felt lighter. “Why, uh… why is that?”

“I worked so hard to make them proud,” Steve told him with a little shrug. “I befriended people that I couldn’t stand, I became an asshole because it’s the kind of man my father would respect, and I lost track of… myself, really. The second they kicked me out, all of the urge to impress them just… went away. It’s gone now. All that’s left is me .”

“What does that leave you with?” Jonathan asked. He sounded genuinely curious, and not judgemental at all. Steve let himself wish, for just one moment, that he’d befriended Jonathan Byers instead of Tommy all those years ago. He just knew his life would have been so much better for it.

“Someone I might actually like,” Steve said softly, giving his first genuine smile since entering Hopper’s car.

“Then let me ask again,” Jonathan said, returning the smile with one of his own. “What is it that you want to do, Steve?”

“I want to go to the police academy,” Steve told him confidently. It didn’t feel like a fleeting dream anymore, now that he’d talked through what had been holding him back. It felt like something he could really do. “I want to train to be a real officer, and then work to keep people safe from more than just monsters. And maybe I’ll be able to make a life for myself along the way.”

“Marry some girl and pop out some kids?” Jonathan asked, his smile changing into something Steve didn’t really recognize. He seemed almost… wistful? Steve wanted to ask about it, but he knew that Jonathan would just close himself back off if he pushed. So instead, he focused on the question more seriously than Jonathan meant him to.

“I don’t know if that’s in the cards for me,” he admitted. “It sounds nice, in theory, but after everything we’ve been through…”

“It’s hard to find someone with shared experience,” Jonathan agreed.

“You’re lucky,” Steve told him, completely serious. “You’ve got Nancy. She completely adores you, and she definitely understands. Shared trauma brings people together.”

“Like you and me?” Jonathan asked, bumping their shoulders together. Steve grinned, nudging him right back.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Just like you and me.”

The next morning, Steve brought diner coffee for the whole precinct. Flo eyed him suspiciously as he handed it out, but she didn’t comment on it. When he lifted the last cup, clearly marked with a large ‘H’, she rolled her eyes at him. He gave her a bright grin as he headed down the hall to Hopper’s office, but she wisely kept her mouth closed. Steve didn’t think he was imagining the glint of pride in her eyes as he walked by. Hopper had definitely told her about the academy offer.

“What are you doing, kid?” Hopper asked, barely glancing up from the paperwork he was filling out. Steve shook his head in amusement.

“It’s too early for that,” he pointed out, placing the cup of coffee on top of the papers. Hopper glared up at him, but it was lacking any kind of real anger. “Aren’t mornings for coffee and contemplation?”

“Flo is never going to let that go,” Hopper sighed, sitting back in his chair. He took a drink from the cup after giving it a suspicious look. He immediately looked pleased, and Steve had to grin. Hopper’s coffee order (and Flo’s) was the first thing he’d learned on the job. “What do you want, Harrington?”

Steve might have been nervous about this if he hadn’t spent a long time talking with Jonathan about it the night before. He didn’t know what, exactly, he’d done to win his friendship, but Jonathan’s calm insight had really helped him. He was ready, now. So it was with a confident smile that Steve sank into the seat across from Hopper, making sure he had the man’s full attention.

“I want to go to the police academy,” he told him. His voice didn’t shake, the way it had the previous day. There wasn’t a single trace of hesitation left in him. Hopper looked oddly proud of him for a moment before he schooled his expression and nodded.

“You start next month,” he informed Steve, then took another long swallow of the coffee. Steve just blinked at him for a second, and he rolled his eyes. “What?”

“How did you know I was going to agree?” Steve asked. Sure, he’d said yesterday that he was interested, but he hadn’t decided if it was something he’d be able to let himself do. He’d been pretty sure when he’d left the diner, actually, that he wouldn’t be doing it at all. 

“You remind me of myself at your age,” Hopper said after a few seconds of contemplation. “I didn’t know what I wanted, either. I barely graduated, because I thought smoking behind the bleachers and making out with random girls was more important than tests or studying. When I did study, things got all… jumbled in my head. I wasn’t a good student. My father was a drunk, and he didn’t care. I got myself into some trouble when I was just a little older than you, and I ended up in jail for a few months over it. And when I came out, I knew what kind of man I wanted to be.”

“What did you do?” Steve asked, struggling to process all of the new information. He never would have guessed any of it.

“That’s not important. What’s important is that I pulled my shit together and graduated the academy with top marks. I went on to be a pretty decent detective in New York for a long time. And then… shit happened. I landed back here,” Hopper told him. “Look, my point is that shit happens, and you’ve gotta decide what you do with it. You came out on top of the end of the world, and you’re a better person for it. I could tell by the way you treat those kids that you’re a better man. You want to do what’s right, and that’s a huge step in the right direction. I’m just giving you the opportunity for a leap. I knew you’d take it.”

“That’s a lot of faith for a kid who barely has any idea of what he’s doing with his life,” Steve said after a few more seconds.

“You don’t have to know where you’re going in order to get there,” Hopper shrugged. “You think I knew this was where I was going to end up? But here I am, and I’m happy.”

“I’m not unhappy,” Steve said quickly, and Hopper raised his eyebrows. “I’m not. I’ve got the kids, I’ve got actual friends who seem to care about me, I’ve got this job, and… for the first time, I think I have an actual future, and not just the illusion my parents liked to see.”

“El talks about you all the time,” Hopper told him out of the blue. “I don’t know how she knows as much as she does, and I don’t think that I want to know. She’s not supposed to be going out, and there’s only so much time for the kids to be on the radio, but… she knows all about you, and she likes you. D’you know, she told me to give you this job before you’d even applied?”

“She did what?” Steve asked, raising his own eyebrows. He hadn’t had too much contact with Eleven after their impromptu waffle run, and that was months ago. He knew she sometimes snuck out to spend time with her friends, and he’d secretly driven her places a few times with them, but… they’d only had a handful of conversations, and only two or three of them had been just the two of them. She barely ever even glanced his way.

“She’s a good judge of character. I was going to ask you if you wanted to help watch her while I was at the station, before you got the job here. I know you’ve got your babysitting business going on the side,” Hopper replied. Steve opened his mouth to correct him before he saw the teasing glint in his eyes. He rolled his own eyes instead. “She would’ve liked that, I think. But right now, you’re her hero. She told me once that she feels safer knowing that you’re trying to protect everyone now.”

“She did not,” Steve protested. His cheeks felt hot, and he refused to acknowledge that he might be blushing. It was strange, knowing that a kid he’d barely met thought of him as a hero of some kind. He didn’t even think that Dustin, who he spent most of his time with, thought of him that way. 

(Something that Mrs. Wheeler had said to him crept back into his mind for a few seconds. “Mike doesn’t usually let outsiders into his game world. If he’s inviting you to play with them, he must genuinely like you. He really looks up to you, even if he hasn’t said it out loud.” It made him feel warm inside, like he’d done something right, for once. Like maybe Hopper wasn’t wrong about this.)

“You can ask her yourself, if you want,” Hopper shrugged. “I told her I’d invite you over for dinner sometime this week so she can ask you questions. We’re having burgers tonight. Homemade, because she insisted.”

“... Okay,” Steve agreed after a moment. He felt so lost, but he didn’t want to ask any more questions. He was still a little worried that everything would disappear if he pushed his luck too far.

“Get back to work, rookie,” Hopper told him, reaching out to shove his shoulder towards the door. “Stop overthinking. Take the week to wrap your head around all of this. We’ll talk about the details later.”

“Yeah, sure,” Steve agreed. He didn’t let himself really smile until he’d reached his own desk. Flo was watching him pretty closely, but he could see her relax the moment he smiled. For the first time in a long time, he knew that everything was going to be okay.

And then…

“Can -nyone – me-”

The radio’s static was louder than usual, but he could make out just enough to know that it was Max. She sounded panicked, but he hoped that was just the static making her voice sound strange. He waited for anyone else to reply, figuring it might just be because he was out of range… but nobody said anything.

“-lease - nybod- - me?”

With a sigh, Steve grabbed the radio from his desk and held the little button down to talk. “Max, I can barely understand you. You’re not in range. Over.”

“-EVE! - eed -lp!”

He felt his heart stop in his chest for a second, nearly dropping the radio in his hurry to stand up and get out of the door. “Where are you?”

“-m home!”

He was out of the driveway before her answer came, and it was easy to direct his car towards the trailer park. His badge and gun were still in the center console where he’d left them- living with the Byers was easier when he didn’t have to worry about Will (or one of the other kids) getting ahold of his loaded gun while he was sleeping or in the shower. He had a feeling that having the gun would come in handy today.

He could hear the sound of breaking glass and screaming from outside. It sent him running, knocking the door down in his haste to get to Max. He took in the scene inside of the trailer for only a second before acting.

Max’s mother was holding a mostly empty bottle of tequila, and she was waving it aggressively at the man that had to be Max’s former stepfather. Steve didn’t know when the man had gotten back into town, or what he’d come back for… but he was currently backhanding Max’s mom, and that wasn’t okay. He was just about to get in between them when that bottle of tequila came flying in the stepfather’s direction and smashed on the wall. Max’s mother hurriedly picked up another empty bottle, ready to fling it as the stepfather advanced on her angrily.

Max was in the corner of the room, crying and clutching the walkie-talkie desperately in her hands like it would protect her. There was a bleeding cut on her leg where her shorts didn’t cover, and a bruise was forming on her cheek under her left eye. Steve didn’t know which adult had done it to her, and he didn’t care. They were both going to pay for it. Nobody got away with hurting one of his kids.

His first priority was getting Max the hell out of that trailer and into safety. He made it over to her without even being noticed by either adult in the trailer. The sheer relief in her eyes made his heart ache for her. Without even slowing down, he scooped her into his arms and carried her as quickly as possible out of the trailer. He didn’t put her down until they were across the street. She swayed on her feet, trying to wipe the tears off of her cheeks. He didn’t miss her wince when her hand brushed across the bruise.

“Is there a neighbor here that you trust?” he asked her urgently. “We need to call this in, and I’m not going to try to use the phone in your trailer.”

Max nodded after a few seconds, turning to point at the trailer beside them. He nodded, wrapping an arm around her to lead her over to the trailer’s door. He knocked himself, keeping a firm grip on her so that she wouldn’t start to panic again. She leaned against him so hard that he knew he’d made the right call. 

Just as he was starting to think that nobody was home (even though there was a van parked in the little driveway), the door was yanked open and a vaguely familiar face was looking down at them in annoyance. The annoyance faded as soon as he saw Max. “Mayfield? What the hell happened to you?”

“My… my mom,” she stuttered, starting to shake a little. Steve pulled away enough to put his hands on her shoulders, and he bent down to meet her eyes.

“I’m going to leave you here with Munson, okay? I need you to call the station and tell them to send Hopper. While you do that, I’m going to put a stop to that fight and get those two separated, okay?” he told her gently. She looked for a moment like she wasn’t going to let him go, but then she nodded.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me,” Eddie Munson assured her, looking between her and Steve in confusion. “We’ll be safe here while Harrington deals with… all of that. Let’s get that cut cleaned up, okay?”

Max nodded again, but just before Steve could turn to go back to her trailer, she grabbed his sleeve. “It wasn’t her fault,” she whispered. “She was already drunk when he showed up, but he hit her first. He started it.”

“And he hit you?” he asked her softly, grabbing her hand gently to get her to let go of his sleeve. She didn’t nod, but the look in her eyes was enough confirmation for him. “I’ll take it easy on her, I promise. But he’s going away for a long, long time. I can promise you that.”

When he made it back into the trailer, the two adults were screaming insults at each other, but the physical fight appeared to be over. He pulled the gun out from the holster he’d barely remembered to slip on, and cocked it loudly, gaining both of their attention.

“Hands against the walls, both of you!” He snapped, aiming the gun at the ground between them. He wouldn’t aim it at either of them unless it looked like they were going to attack him. Max’s mother dropped her empty bottle (vodka this time) and hurried to comply. The stepfather took his time, sneering at Steve for almost a full minute before he seemed to realize that Steve wasn’t joking.

“What are you going to do, shoot me?” he spat. He did put his hands on the wall beside him, though. His eyes never left Steve, and the hatred in them made his blood run cold. Was this what Max had been dealing with at home?

“If I have to,” Steve informed him, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t think that you’re getting out of this without being arrested. You attacked two innocent people, one of them a minor, and you’re going to face the consequences for it.”

There was still a lot of rage boiling under Steve’s skin as he watched Max’s stepfather glare at him. He kept the gun aimed at the man’s feet, paying hardly any attention to Max’s mother at all. He was pretty sure she wasn’t a threat. She’d calmed down considerably when she’d seen him, and he’d noticed her looking around for Max twice now. He’d address that when Hopper came to take this asshole out of his hands.

Hopper showed up in less than ten minutes. Steve didn’t know what Max had told him, but Hopper came barreling through the door with his own gun drawn, panic barely contained. He’d relaxed when he saw that Steve had the situation under control, and Steve had only gotten a nod before Hopper was dragging the stepfather out with his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

Max’s mother wilted as soon as the man was led from the trailer. She seemed to forget that she was supposed to be against the wall as soon as he was out of sight. Steve watched her sink down to sit on the floor and put her head in her lap, feeling uncomfortable as she cried. He decided to give her a little bit of time to get it out of her system before he had the conversation that he knew needed to be had. When he could tell that she was starting to calm down, he slid his gun into the holster and walked over to her.

“You can’t keep doing this,” he told her quietly. She looked up at him, startled to see that he was still there. As if he’d be leaving her behind.

“Doing what? I didn’t… I didn’t do this,” she slurred up at him. He was disgusted to see that she was still pretty drunk.

“Max needs you to be her mother, not a drunk nobody who spends most of her day passed out on the couch,” Steve informed her, crossing his arms. 

“You don’t… You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she glared up at him, hugging her legs like a child. Steve sighed, sinking down to sit across from her on the floor.

“I have a pretty good idea, actually,” he told her. “My own mother is a lot like you. My dad cheated on her a lot while I was growing up, and she knew it. She turned to drinking to cope, and they fight all the time. She used to spend a lot of time with me, but the more she drank… it was like I stopped existing. So when I say I know how Max is feeling right now, I mean it.”

She regarded him with glazed eyes, frowning. He waited for her to think it through, and he was glad to see the fight starting to leave her as she realized he wasn’t wrong. “It’s just hard.”

“Life is hard,” he told her bluntly. “We all live anyway, and we do it sober. Especially those of us with children.”

“You don’t have children,” she accused him, but she didn’t sound very sure of herself anymore. “You don’t… you don’t know.”

“I’ve been more of a parent to Max in this last year than you have,” he snorted. “She tells me everything, and I take care of her when she needs me to. I drive her places, make sure she’s been eating, and keep her entertained. She’s a good kid, but she’s exactly that: a kid. She needs an adult to take care of her. And you need to pull your head out of your ass and be that adult.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said it like that, but it felt good to finally be saying it at all. He’d been watching Max struggle since he’d met her, and he’d done what he could, but… he wasn’t her parent. Not really. She needed her mom to be there for her, and he’d be damned if he sat back and watched any longer.

“So this is what you’re going to do,” he informed her firmly. She was still watching him, but she was starting to look more sober. There was less of a glazed look in her eyes. “You’re going to pour whatever bottles of booze you have down the drain, and you’re not going to buy any more. You’re going to pull your shit together over the next two weeks, get yourself back into decent health, and wrap your mind around the fact that you have a daughter that depends on you. And after those two weeks are up, you are going to pick Max up from the Byers residence and bring her to a home that isn’t broken.”

He met her eyes, not wavering for even one moment. He didn’t have to ask Joyce if she’d be willing to take Max in, because he already knew the answer. And it was much more likely that Max would end up staying with El for the two weeks, anyways. Steve would be there for her, taking care of her the way he always did, until her mother came to pick her up. He could see by the look in her mother’s eyes that she was going to listen to him.

“Am I clear?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft. She nodded, but that wasn’t good enough. “I want to hear you say the words.”

He thought for one single moment that she was going to be too stubborn to humor him, but then… “Yes, I understand. I’ll pick her up in two weeks,” she replied just as softly. “I’ll be sober.”

“Good,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “Don’t disappoint her. You’ve done that enough already.”

He didn’t wait for a reply before leaving the trailer. He didn’t look back when he heard her break down into sobs, though he did feel sorry for her. His eyes were focused on Max, standing beside Eddie Munson out on his lawn, talking to Hopper quietly. Her eyes were just as focused on him from the moment he exited the trailer. He barely made it across the street before he had his arms full.

“Did they hurt you?” she whispered. He could hear the tears in her voice as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“No,” he assured her. “And they’re not going to hurt you anymore, either.”

“You don’t know that,” she told him, pulling back to frown up at him. “I’m fine, anyway. It was just a scratch.”

“You’re not fine,” he replied, raising his eyebrows. “And you’re not going home for a while. How do you feel about an extended sleepover with El?”

He was glad to see her smile for the first time that day, real and bright. He met Hopper’s eyes over her head, and they had a silent conversation about it before the chief nodded. (He was pointedly ignoring the confused look that Eddie Munson had been giving him since he’d stepped into sight. He had other things to worry about.)

He knew he’d have to talk to Hopper about it later, and let him know what all was said. They’d have to go over the details, and figure out if it was even safe to give Max back to her mother whether she was sober or not. They’d have to deal with a court case against Max’s stepfather, to make sure he couldn’t come back into any of their lives again. They’d have to come up with something to tell the rest of the kids that wouldn’t make Max uncomfortable or a liar, and they’d have to convince El and Lucas not to go looking for trouble with Max’s family. But for right now…

For right now, he was going to focus on getting Max through the rest of the day. He had a kid to take care of, and nothing was going to stop him. He might not be a real parent to any of them, but they were his kids, and he’d make sure that nobody ever forgot that.