meadow meets steve's parents, and things don't necessarily go to plan

sometime after season three

mean parents, divorce

daddy issues by the neighbourhood

- i came up with my own ✨intriguing✨ insight on why mr henderson isn't involved. this is, of course, a theory, and hasn't been proven or mentioned at all but i think it adds some spice

👁👁

to talk about his parents. in fact, he seemed to avoid it at all costs. steve had never had a good relationship with his parents. he wasn't necessarily the brightest or best at school, and the only thing he did that made them proud was be on the basketball team.

because of his distaste for his parents, steve rarely told them anything. so, they were unaware of meadow and of his relationship with her. steve was fine with that.. he didn't need them getting in between them or teasing him for it.

but, meadow was entirely the opposite. she loved her family, and she spent all of her time with them. while claudia henderson could be dramatic and overbearing, she was her mother. but the main sign of love in the henderson house was meadow and dustin.

just seeing those two together made steve feel guilty for not caring for his parents (and brother, if you believe troy is steve's brother). they never liked him, so he kindly returned the favor. but meadow and dustin loved each other, and steve could tell how important family was to her.

"do you.. do you want to meet my parents?" they were laying on the couch, empire strikes back playing on the tv. meadow was laying in steve's arms, feeling the soft rhythm of his breathing.

meadow turned in his arms. "hmm?" she hummed softly as she turned to look at him, taking in his expression. "wait.. are you serious?"

steve nodded reluctantly. "i want you to be able to meet them. but. i have to warn you, you're not gonna like them."

"of course i'll like them!" meadow insisted, shaking her head. "they're your parents, steve, i have to like them."

he made a wincing face. "i don't think them creating me gives you an automatic reason to like them." he sighed, thinking through his words. "they kind of.. don't really like me."

"so you've mentioned."

"but like.. it's more than that. i don't really talk to them, at all."

meadow frowned. "well, i'd you want me to meet them, then i'd love to."

steve planned to marry meadow. there wasn't any doubt in his mind that she was the one for him. but, if he was going to marry her, he'd have to at least have her meet her in-laws, even if they were assholes.

"i'll pick you up at 7:30? dinner at my house?" steve's face broke into a boyish grin as meadow smiled up at him, pressing her lips to his cheek.

"sounds good, harrington."

to be perfectly honest, meadow didn't know if her boyfriend was being for real about her meeting his parents until he actually made plans. but, with the 7:30 dinner planned, she got dressed.

meadow was never the kind of girl to get fancy. she was perfectly fine wearing jeans and a band t-shirt. but, she wanted to make a good impression. after digging through her closet and dropping multiple boxes on her head, meadow pulled out a black dress. the sleeves fell off the shoulder, accenting the "sweetheart" shape of the neckline. when meadow did get fancy, she tended to go all out.

she brushed her curly hair (one of the many shared traits between the two henderson siblings) to perfection, using some clips to bring it out of her face. she didn't bother with makeup, she never found herself to be skilled at makeup. after putting on her converse and grabbing her bag, she was out the door.

"where are you going?" dustin asked from his room as he heard her open her door.

meadow looked over her shoulder at him, stopping in the hallway. "i'm going to steve's house." she replied simply.

dustin raised an unimpressed brow, eyeing his sister almost threateningly. "dressed like that?"

this earned a scoff from his sister, who flipped him off as she walked away. "bye mom!" she called, walking out the front door to meet steve, who had been waiting for no more than a minute. "hey." she said breathily, meeting him halfway.

she could tell that he was going to meet her by the door, but she didn't expect him to mumble a soft: "i wanted to say hi to your mom."

steve, as always, opened the door for meadow, and she slipped into the passenger seat. "you look radiant." steve said, his voice low, but loud enough for her to hear. she smiled, tilting her head upwards to meet his lips in a gentle kiss.

they could almost sense the nerves on each other, but they left their anxieties unspoken, hoping against hope that, by not saying them aloud, their negative feelings would go away. they were both beyond nervous, heads spinning with all of the possible outcomes.

steve's parents could dislike meadow. they could force them to break up. meadow might not like his parents. she might want to break up with him. steve might not like meadow with his parents. he might want to break up with her.

meadow had just noticed steve's knee bouncing up and down (from his nervous foot tapping) when he placed a slightly sweaty hand on her knee. she intertwined their fingers, sending him an encouraging smile.

they pulled into steve's house, and he opened the door for her once more. steve was dressed a bit more professional than normal, with jeans and a polo shirt. normally, meadow would laugh at the sight of her boyfriend being dressed like a dad, but she knew that he was probably being forced to wear it by his parents.

the walk up to the door of steve's freakishly large (to meadow) house was quiet as the couple held hands, a silent way of assuring each other that, no matter what happened, they had each other.

steve opened the door, putting a hand on the small of meadow's back as he ushered her to walk in before him. she did so, looking around at the house. she'd only been here once, and it was when she was on the search for barb. now, the house seemed all the more gloomy. she wondered to herself how steve could live there for so long.

"steven? is that you?" a woman asked, her voice nearing as she rounded a corner and made her way to the hall that the couple were standing in. "oh, this must be meadow!"

meadow put on her award winning 'smile-to-give-to-adults' smile, holding out her hand, which his mother accepted. "mrs. harrington, it's so nice to finally meet you! i'm meadow." her nerves melted away at the smile that his mother gave her, as if she actually approved of her, it seemed.

the three spent a few minutes in the kitchen, discussing the significance of the various florals on the harrington's plates. steve lightly squeezed meadow's hand, looking down at her and giving her a look that she knew was asking if she was okay. she nodded, but, before either could say anything, they heard footsteps.

silence can be loud. silence can, in fact, be deafening. and the silence that meadow heard then was the loudest silence she'd ever heard. it was as if the super villain had walked into the room, but there were no heroes to be found.

meadow reluctantly shifted her gaze from steve to the man she could only assume was his father. while she could see the resemblance, something about this man's eyes was cold. any trace of light that had once been there, gone. "hi, you must be mr. harrington! i'm-"

"is the food almost done?" he cut her off, ignoring her outstretched hand. meadow slowly, and awkwardly, retracted her hand, moving back next to steve.

"oh, sweetie," his mother said, turning to meadow, "we're having pasta, is that okay?" meadow nodded without a word, not wanting to say anything after getting interrupted. "dinner is almost ready, darling." she said to her husband.

meadow had always been the kind of person to observe. with her bright blue eyes, her mother would say that her eyes couldn't ever stay away from things she found intriguing. while she would share her thoughts with her friends, meadow stored first impressions, opinions, and assumptions in her mind for years.

just from seeing his parents, meadow understood a) why steve had daddy issues and b) why steve had trust issues. when a marriage isn't healthy, meadow thought, it couldn't be easy to believe in love afterwards. so, the fact that steve was wholeheartedly in love with her, was flattering.

dinner was finished soon after, and meadow sat down next to steve, looking around awkwardly as his mother said a prayer that she didn't know of. she could feel his father's gaze, but did her best to ignore it. after all, it wasn't her fault that she didn't know the prayer.

the harrington's began to eat when they had finished reciting their prayer, and meadow looked around at them before picking up her fork and digging into the pasta. "this is delicious, mrs. harrington, thank you so much for making it." meadow said, getting a soft smile from her.

no one said anything for a few minutes, and meadow looked up at steve, who seemed upset. she could tell that, inside, he was angry at his father for not acting any differently. steve had hoped that, with meadow being there, he wouldn't be as much of an assclown.

"so, what does your dad do?" mr. harrington asked after a while, making meadow almost choke on her pasta noodle. she hummed, sending him a quizzical look. he seemed annoyed, clearing his throat. "where does your father work?"

meadow's eyes widened a little. "oh, well, um.." she was never one to talk about her father. he went unspoken in the henderson household, and no one outside of the house knew the real reason he wasn't in the picture. meadow didn't want to lie to steve's family, like she lied to everyone else. she didn't want to say that her dad had some business in indianapolis or that he drove to franklin or greenwood. "my dad, actually, isn't a part of my life anymore."

it was unclear how to phrase such a thing. there isn't a handbook of what to say when your parents split up. if you should say that you're happy, that you're stressed, make something up about never liking one of them anyway. meadow tended to keep her true feelings hidden, which was why her brother and steve were the only two people she opened up to. but even steve didn't know the true reason that her father was out of the house.

meadow watched as mr. harrington's face fell into a scowl. she felt herself shrink underneath that judgements gaze. "oh. was your mom sleeping around?" he asked, his stomach rippling with laughter at what he seemed to think was the funniest joke in the world. meadow looked down at her lap, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her anger. steve's hand quickly flew into her lap, holding one of her hands. she squeezed his hand so tightly he thought it might fall off.

"she doesn't want to talk about it, dad." steve said, looking up at his father for the first time all night. meadow sniffled a little, not crying, just clearing her nose. it concerned steve, though, and he looked down at her, his soft gaze questioning if she was okay.

silence fell onto the dinner table as meadow finished her food, taking a sip of her water. "i heard you have a brother with some weird disease." mr. harrington spoke up after a while.

meadow looked up, mentally shoving her anger down so that it wouldn't rise into her chest. "do you have any questions about me, mr. harrington, or are you going to continue to ask about my family?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice as level as possible.

the man raised a brow, looking shocked that she would dare speak her mind. seeing the way mrs. harrington said nothing at all times, meadow assumed that he believed women talking to be a crime. "well, does your brother have a weird disease?"

steve's foot started tapping under the table. "it's called cleidocranial dysplasia, dad." steve had done his best to learn about CCD once he became close with dustin. he wanted to be able to know what was going on, and he felt smart when he told people about it. "he's getting surgery next week, right, meadow?"

meadow nodded, unable to let any words out. it was one thing to ask about her father, completely another to say something about dustin. "you have a lovely house, mr. and mrs. harrington." she mumbled, clearing her throat.

"i'm sure you're not used to houses, only having one parent and all." mr. harrington said, chuckling to himself. "is your trailer nice?"

the girl looked at her empty plate, trying to focus on breathing exercises. it took a lot to make meadow mad, but when she was mad, there was no turning back. she didn't want to do anything she'd regret. "i live in a house, mr. harrington. a nice house."

he seemed unconvinced, looking around and chuckling in disbelief. "well, it's a good thing you picked up steven here. he's dumb as rocks, but, he's going to follow the harrington legacy. when he's a business man, i'm sure you want to be his wife to inherit his money."

meadow quirked a brow, looking up from her plate. "steve isn't dumb." she said simply, knowing already that steve was fighting back his emotions just as much as she was. "and i'm not dating him for money."

"well, how long have you been dating? because he hasn't told us anything about you. like i've always said, don't tell the parents unless the sex is just that good, right son?" mr. harrington threw his head back in laughter, his fists pounding the table.

meadow kept a straight face, calmly speaking while her fingers twiddled with her fork. "i'm sure the reason he hadn't told you has something to do with the fact that you're insufferable." she refrained from the profanity that was lingering on her lips.

he raised a brow, laughing. "you don't have any right to say that to me, you bi-"

"i don't think you want to finish that sentence." steve said, standing up. he looked down at his dad, a gaze comparable to the way he looked at billy that night at the byers' house. meadow looked up at him, silently praying he wouldn't do anything he'd regret.

"and why not? what are you going to do? you work at a video store making less than a dollar an hour. you were lucky you were good at basketball, but now you can't even do that!" mr. harrington drug on. "and now you have a good-for-nothing girlfriend who makes even less money than you. you know you're not going to marry her, so why even bother? her broken family would only set a bad reputation for the company, steven."

steve chuckled, running his tongue over his teeth. "it's steve, dad. and yes, i do plan to marry her. oh, and, fuck your company."

his mother sat like a mouse, her eyes wide. his father, on the other hand, fumed. his face for even more tomato red, if that was even possible. "get out."

"gladly."

the only thing steve wanted to do was pick meadow up and run her out of there. run her away from this town, away from hawkins and away from all of the problems that had happened there. run her away from his dad, and from all of her problems. but, instead, he grabbed her hands, helping her to her feet and holding her hand as he led her outside.

as soon as the door was behind them, meadow sat down on the steps that led to his door. the tears that had been pricking at her eyes finally fell free as steve sat next to her. "hey, baby, it's okay. it's okay. he's an asshole. none of that was true. i shouldn't have even brought you here, i'm so sorry." steve rambled as he wrapped his arms around her, feeling her nuzzle her face into his neck.

they sat like that for a few moments, steve's fingers gently combing through her hair in attempts to calm them both down. "i never told you about my dad." meadow said, sniffling as she removed her head from the warmth of the crook of his neck. steve knew that she never had, but he never wanted to pressure her into saying anything. "he didn't leave us. he didn't die. we had to kick him out."

"you don't have to talk about it if you don't-"

"i want to, steve. you of all people should know the truth." meadow cleared her throat, looking up at him. "when dustin was born, we didn't know that he was going to have cleidocranial dysplasia. i don't think it would've changed my mom's choice to keep him or to love him, we just didn't know. my dad was furious. he knew that dustin's condition would mean more hospital bills, surgeries, and disgrace to the family name. when dustin was three and his baby teeth were all grown in, he would just yell at him all the time, as if he wasn't even human. our mom would tell him to stop, and he wouldn't. it all got out of hand when he hit me. i was eating lunch with dustin and he was telling him that he wouldn't ever amount to anything. i told him to stop yelling at us, and he just reached up and slapped me. that was when our mom had enough. they yelled at each other for 36 hours. i counted every one." meadow sniffled a little, looking down before continuing. "my mom had decided that he was unfit to be around her children, especially if he wasn't going to get physical. they divorced later that year, but she had already kicked him out of the house. that's why dustin is always so protected by us. he doesn't remember any of it, but i think he feels like it's his fault." meadow rubbed her nose with the back of her hand before letting out a small chuckle. "i guess we both have asshole dads."

steve wrapped both arms around her. "thank you so much for telling me. i'm so sorry that happened to you."

"it's okay." she mumbled into his shoulder, snuggling into his warmth. "do you want to spend the night at my house? so you don't have to.. you know." steve nodded, standing up and extending a hand to help his girlfriend to her feet.

"by the way," steve said as he opened the car door for her, "i do plan to marry you. you know that, right?"

meadow laughed a little, nodding. "yeah, because you say it every week."

steve smiled, pressing a kiss to her lips. "and i think it every second."