my girl, forever and always || steve harrington

the gate

part one

after some talk, the conclusion had been reached that in order to close the gate and save will they had to burn the parasite out of him. it was going to be difficult and painful no doubt, but he would be okay. and that's all they could ask for at this point.

lydia opened a window to get some fresh air as she sipped some juice to help with the blood loss she experienced previously. the cool autumn night made chills run up and down her arm in a refreshing manner and relieved some of her tension. the smell reminded her of when her and dustin would sit in the backyard and tell each other stories while drinking hot chocolate, or when she would stargaze with steve, or when her dad would carry her into the house after she had fallen asleep in the car as a kid. but it also reminded her of when she went into the woods with jonathan and nancy and almost died. the night was filled with memories, good and bad.

from the backyard she heard quiet voices, familiar voices.

"you should go with him." steve.

"what?" nance.

"with jonathan."

"no, i'm not just gonna leave mike." the shuffling of scraps and the clang of metal in the background accompanied their conversation.

"no one's leaving anyone," a pause. "i may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but, it turns out i'm a pretty damn good babysitter." lydia silently laughed at that.

"steve." nancy's voice was so quiet she thought she imagined it but steve's response confirmed it.

"it's okay, nance. it's okay." his voice was forgiving. it was kind.

"be good to her, okay? be good for her." are they talking about me?

"i think that she's the one that's good for me." a smile graced lydia's face at the comment.

~

hopper's police truck pulled out of the driveway with jonathan's car not far behind. as the kids and the two teens watched them drive off, their stomachs were filled with dread and their chests tight with anxiety, but there was a single glimmer of hope now that el was back. so they clung onto it with everything in them.

putting her arm around the younger wheeler, lydia rested her head on his and gave him a squeeze to let him know everything was gonna be alright. although she wasn't sure of it, the least she could do is let him know that he wasn't alone. he reached up and clutched her hand, silently telling her that he appreciated the gesture.

~

lydia couldn't figure out how they got to this point. sat on the counter with a juice box, she watched her brother empty the fridge while steve stood by holding the dead demogorgan in a blanket. no one knows how to clear a fridge like her brother. poor joyce was gonna have so much to clean up when she gets back. she made a mental note to pop back when this was all over and help the byers clean the place up a little.

"is this really necessary?"

"yes, it is okay?" dustin insisted. "this is a groundbreaking scientific discovery. we can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? it's not a dog." steve accepted, probably so dustin would stop bitching.

"but you're explaining this to mrs. byers, alright?" they struggled to fit the demogorgan into the fridge and she laughed lightly at their foolishness. her boys. ever the idiots. in the living room, max and lucas had taken it upon themselves to help sweep up the broken glass from the window while mike paced in impatience.