❁

meadow didn't know what happened. "close it now!" she could hear dustin yelling on the walkie talkie, and she assumed that joyce and hopper had closed the gate.

the car of kids, once the mind flayer had stopped chasing them, moved back to the mall, and were met with the sight of ambulances all around, as well as helicopters and firefighters and police. well, it looked like hawkins would be talk of indiana again, meadow thought as she took steve's hand into hers, feeling the weight of the whole day fall onto her.

billy was dead, hopper was dead. it didn't feel real, meadow thought. her head hurt more than it had ever hurt before as a firefighter handed her and steve blankets, just like they always did at the end of movies when the characters were all able to pack up and go home. meadow was sitting on the back of the fire truck, the blanket wrapped around her body.

"are you okay?" steve said softly, looking down at her.

"you already asked me that." she replied, her voice equally as soft.

steve wrapped an arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. nancy had told the two of them to stay at the mall while she and jonathan, still in the car, went back to the hill to collect dustin and erica.

the car they'd taken parked in the lot and meadow looked up, moving from her spot next to steve and running over to her brother. she wrapped both arms around him, feeling him dig his head into her shoulder. "i love you so much." she said to him, ruffling his hair through his hat.

"i love you too." dustin said, laughing a little at her affection. their mother arrived at the scene quickly and picked them both up, offering to drop steve off at his own home.

the main thing that they noticed about steve's house was that the lights weren't on. it was something so simple, but it made meadow frown. it was a silent way for the harringtons to tell their son that they weren't worried or concerned about him not coming home for days, or his workplace getting practically blown up. assholes.

meadow walked him up to his doorstep, a silence falling over the two. "what a crazy day." she said quietly, wincing a little at the ringing in her ears.

"no kidding." steve agreed, looking at the door of the house in front of him. "i love you." he said, looking down at her, not wanting to leave.

"i love you too." meadow smiled softly, feeling him rest his hand on her cheek, capturing her lips in a chaste kiss. "on the bright side, you don't have work tomorrow." she joked, feeling his chest rumble with laughter. "i'll see you later."

she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't want to be alone, but her mom's voice brought her attention back to the present as she cleared her throat, giving him one more kiss before walking back to her car, watching as her boyfriend groggily stumbled into his home.

when meadow got home, she took a long shower, watching the blood pour down the drain. the water was turned red, and she sighed, washing the clumps of dried blood from her hair.

after getting out of the shower, meadow put on steve's basketball hoodie and some athletic shorts, putting a hand to her head. the main reminder that everything had actually been real was the insane headache, along with the aching in her ribs. she was honestly surprised that her mother was already asleep, considering how worried she usually got over her kids.

dustin, however, couldn't sleep. meadow walked into the living room, seeing her brother sitting there, completely motionless. "hey." she mumbled, sitting next to him on the sofa.

"hey."

she put a hand on his shoulder. "you need to sleep." she told him, seeing in his eyes that he was genuinely tired.

dustin nodded. "i know. but.. but if i close my eyes.. what if that.. that thing is there?" meadow frowned, gesturing for him to move closer to her. she wrapped both arms around him, singing a soft lullaby into his ear.

soon, dustin was asleep, and meadow picked him up, carrying him to his room. she lay him on his bed, covering him in a blanket. that poor kid had been through more shit in three years than the average person did in a lifetime. he deserved a good rest.

meadow went into her own room, finding that she too had problems sleeping. a tap at her window made her almost shit her pants, but she looked up and saw steve. he was smiling somewhat sheepishly, but she could tell he was upset.

"what's wrong?" meadow asked as she opened her window.

steve's eyes glossed over. "i didn't want to.." he looked down in embarrassment. "i didn't want to sleep alone."

meadow nodded in understanding, silently taking his hands in hers and helping him into her room and to her bed. he took off his shoes and lay down underneath her covers, not a word being shared between the two. meadow wrapped her legs around one of his, laying down on his chest so that she could hear his heartbeat, assuring her that he was still alive.

if they weren't as tired as they were, they would've giggled or blushed about how close they were or about how they were in the same bed. but all they could think about was the ache in their bones and the gratitude they felt that they still had each other.

that, no matter what, they would always have each other.

meadow woke up groggily, feeling the sun on her face. two strong arms held her down, and she looked up to see steve, still half asleep. her eyes roamed his face. he seemed so peaceful. his cuts were still evident, and his eye was severely bruised. despite all of that, he looked comparable to a god. she pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "good morning." meadow said as his eyes fluttered open.

steve smiled contently, holding her tighter and closing his eyes, trying to get the last bit of sleep he could. "i can't believe that.. that a year ago you hated me." he said, making her laugh.

"what? i didn't hate you!"

"yeah, that's what robin said, but i don't believe it."

meadow rolled her eyes, settling her head back on his chest. "you need to get another jacket exactly like your old one."

"why?"

"because i like that jacket, and it has blood all over it now!"

steve shook his head fondly, running his hands through her mess of curly hair. "fine, i will get another jacket." he looked down at her, seeing how content she looked. "i wasn't joking."

"hmm?" she hummed.

"earlier. when i said we should get married." he explained. "i wasn't joking."

meadow looked up at him. "and neither was i when i agreed."

steve smiled to himself, leaning back onto her pillow. "i love you." he mumbled.

"i love you, too."

"no, like.. i love love you. like you are the moon and the stars and all the constellations. you are everything to me." steve said, looking back down at her. "you are the horizons and the valleys and the canyons and i love you."

meadow looked away from him, blushing. "i love love you, too, steve harrington."