A Letter To You

Dear Steve

No one's POV:

"Come on, put her in the car." Steve said as Lucas carried Max down the hill.

"Hold your horses I'm coming." Dustin yelled out, as he tried to collect all of Max's other music.

Steve opened the door up behind the driver's seat so Lucas could put in the half asleep Max.

"Where to now?" Lucas desperately asked as grabbed the music from Dustin's hands to put in the seat next to him.

"Wheeler's. Nancy said it's best for everyone to stay together. Now especially after all of this." Steve said as he hopped into the driver's seat and put his car into drive, "is she still sleeping?"

Lucas looked over at Max as she kept drifting in and out of sleep, "yup, kind of. She's in and out."

"We'll all take turns watching over Max tonight, to make sure she's okay." Steve stated, no question about it.

"Works for me, I need to make sure she's safe. I almost lost her once today, I'm not watching her go through that again." Lucas told them as he rested his hand on her knee.

"I know man, she's strong. She'll get through it, she's MadMax she has too." Dustin told him as he turned back around.

As the car pulled away from the cemetery Max full woke up with a gasp as she went to grab Lucas' arm, resulting in all three boys to snap their eyes and faces towards her.

Steve prided himself on being an emotionally stable for the most part, but when he saw Max's eyes well up with tears in the rear view mirror something inside him snapped. Seeing the brave girl that never cried - never in front of him at least - about to start crying, broke the part of him that he saved for the young teens.

"Lucas," Max begged as she went to grasp onto him, needing something or someone to hold onto.

"It's okay, Max. I'm here, I'm right here." Lucas promised, holding her in his arms as Steve watched the moment between the two.

"Hey, Lil' Red, we're almost there, okay? I can get you anything you want, just hang in there." Steve promised as they continued to drive down the street.

After arriving at the Wheeler's house, Lucas carried a once again sleeping Max inside making sure her headphones stayed on, and Dustin trailing behind him with Max's music in tow.

"You and Dustin go get her some water or something, she needs to stay hydrated." Steve told the two as he pushed them up the stairs.

Steve sat down as he pulled the blanket up around Max, "hey Stevie."

"How you feeling Red?" Steve asked, adjusting the blanket since he could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Exhausted. I feel like I've been to hell and back. Which I'm not sure that wasn't." Max explained as she closed her eyes, "I'll explain everything later, I promise."

"No worries, get your energy back first." Steve told her as he stood up.

"Hey? Steve?" Max called out as she reached into her bag and pulled an envelope out, "this ones for you, go ahead. Thank you for helping."

"Of course, I'll go read it." Steve said as he watched her fall into a light conversation with Dustin and Lucas who had just come back downstairs with some water.

Steve's POV:

Watching the three interact made me feel better, from the first day I was with the goons I knew they would be close with Max, make her feel like Hawkins is home.

I don't know if I'm ready to open this letter, but seeing how she handed me mine and I didn't have to beg for it like Dustin did, I guess that means something.

Dear Steve,

Hello my favorite babysitter! I'm just teasing, but really you take care and look after me better than half of my shitty family ever did, so thank you for that.

My life has never been easy since I moved to Hawkins, I mean if you told 10 year old me I was going to be fighting inter-dimensional monsters... I wouldn't have believed anyone.

I know we don't even know each other that well, but it means a lot to me that you care. I hope that this isn't goodbye because I want to know "the guy who has the really good hair", Dustin's words not mine, a little better.

I didn't write her a letter, but when you see her, tell Robin I think she's pretty badass too.
Thanks for helping us save the world, Stevie, hope this isn't the last of our time together.

From,
Lil' Red.