Mama Steve (A Stranger Things AU story type of thing)

~Unwanted Tears~

***Back to General POV btw***

Thursday morning was a quiet affair. They had breakfast and got dressed relatively quickly.

Mrs. Harrington was sick so she didn't go, and Mr. Harrington stayed home to feed her soup and tend to her.

El and Max looked quite pretty, despite the fact they were going to a funeral, and the boys all looked pretty handsome.

Steve gave them a pep talk, and soon they were walking into the church.

Most of the family there looked disgusted and angry, but a couple of people were silently mourning in the corner.

El gripped onto Mike's hand absentmindedly, as Max did the same with Lucas. Dustin and Will stayed close to each other.

Steve combed a hand through his hair and led them to a pew to sit in. They got settled and whispered amongst themselves as they waited.

Soon, the funeral began. The organ played as a priest led them in many songs.

A couple of family members read speeches, and before they knew it, it was over. Jeremiah Bowie was gone.

Steve volunteered to carry out his casket, along with a couple other men, and together they carried the casket to the car that would transport it.

El felt her eyes sting with tears, despite the fact she had a strong hatred for Jeremiah.

There was something in the air that made them all want to cry.

When Steve came back, he was silently crying.

"Come on, let's go," Max said softly, putting her arm around Steve's shoulders.

They drove home, where the Harringtons were waiting on the porch for them. They each had a couple of suitcases and a thick wad of money.

"Steven," Mrs. Harrington said, "We're off to Australia. There's something that came up at your father's work and we won't be back until late December. Just.....be careful, darling. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," he muttered, pushing past his parents.

The party followed after him solemny.

"Oh, and, Steve? I like your new girlfriend," Mrs. Harrington said with a small smile.

"Um...I'm sorry?" Steve questioned.

"The young lady on the couch, whom you work with."

Steve's eyes widened with horror.

"No!" He exclaimed, "I wouldn't date her for all the money in the world!"

"Touching," said Mrs. Harrington, "invite me to the wedding while you're at it."

She left with a wink, Mr. Harrington leading her down to their fancy car.

(⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~(⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~(⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~

"It's just.....kinda sad," Robin muttered, swirling her spoon in her soup.

"Yeah," El murmured in agreement, "S-sad."

She buried her head in her hands and silently sobbed.

"El? Are you okay?" Asked Mike.

"Yeah, it's just- I can't believe I'm crying over him, after he tried to kill us. It just makes no sense," El muttered.

Dustin gave his friend a hug, crying as well.

There was a silence that hung through the air, stinging them.

Until Steve piped up and said, "Um...Mike, can you get that for me?" as the doorbell rang.

Mike nodded and the silence began to sting more.

"Mike?" Asked Robin a few minutes later, "You okay in there?"

"I'm great!" He exclaimed, walking into the kitchen holding hands with a little girl with blond pigtails.

"Hey Holls," Steve murmured, as the party began to process what was going on.

This was Nancy's family. Mike's family.

The girl smiled sadly and said, "Hey, Stevie. Why'd you stop coming over for coffee?"

El felt her heart warm at the little girl's innocence.

"I'm sorry, I've just been busy," he said, patting her head.

The little girl let out an angelic giggle as the party and Robin smiled.

"Ooh, Cousin Mikey, are these your friends?" The girl asked.

"Yup," Mike replied.

Suddenly a blond woman and a dark haired man walked into the kitchen together, hand in hand.

"Holly, dear, give them a second," the blond woman said kindly.

"Okay, momma," the girl, Holly, said with a small frown.

"Oh, dear," the woman's eyes widened with shock, "You really weren't kidding when you said you had a full house, Steve."

Steve chuckled and said, "Yeah. Can I get you anything?"

"Coke please," said Mrs. Wheeler.

Steve nodded and headed off to the fridge.

"So....I've heard there's a Dustin, Maxine, although you prefer Max, and El, a Lucas and a Will. Oh, and Robin is Steve's friend. Who's a girl," Mrs. Wheeler said.

The party each raised a hand as their name was called, and Mike's aunt nodded to herself.

"Alrighty then, it's nice to meet all of you. My name is Karen Wheeler, but you can call me Karen," she said with a proud smile.

"I'm Ted," Ted grunted, patting his wife's shoulder.

"And I'm Holly!" Holly said cheerfully.

The party grinned at her, Karen, and Ted.

"What brings you here?" Asks Steve, handing Karen her Coke.

"Just here to say sorry for all the trouble Nancy has caused you," Karen replied.

"It's okay," Steve said quickly, tearing up.

"Steve," Karen said soothingly, "You know it's okay to cry, right?"

"Whatever," he replied, walking over towards the counter to pour himself a glass of Coke.

"Alright, well I promised Holly Ted and I would take her shopping, so we have to be on our way. But it was wonderful meeting you all. Have an awesome day. Don't forget, you can cry if you need to," Karen said, before leading her family out the door.

Why should I cry if the tears are unwanted? Steve thought, Curse you, Jeremiah. Curse you, Nancy.

Word count: 942