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If you were to ask anyone in Hawkins how they would describe Y/N Hopper, there would be a common theme amongst the citizens. Y/N was responsible, intelligent, dependable, respectful, overall a good girl. She was beloved by her dad and the rest of the Hawkins police department, a model daughter any father would want. She maintained this reputation throughout her life. She didn’t go to parties, she didn’t sneak out at night, drink or do drugs, she never felt the need. She didn’t want to make her dad’s life more difficult after Sarah died, and then after mom left. He tried his best, and Y/N knew that. So she tried her best too, but now her dad was dead, and her best didn’t seem worth it anymore.
She got the idea after walking past the travel agency in Hawkins. A massive poster filled with depictions of flashing lights and money falling from the sky.
Test Your Luck in Las Vegas! It said. Y/N stared at that poster for a long time. She remembered how much she missed out in her teens, parties, booze, and boys. She was turning 19 in a few months, and she had nothing to show for it. Nothing normal anyway. That’s when she decided to go to the bank, cash out some of her inheritance, and book a flight to Vegas.
She could feel the adrenaline rush in her veins, she had never done anything like this before. Every decision she made was calculated, sure, she measured the risks for everything. This was sudden, spontaneous, exciting. The first time she felt thrilled in weeks. She knew her dad would be disappointed in her, but in the moment she didn’t think of him. She couldn’t, not without crumbling. Y/N needed this, to get away. Get away from Hawkins and all of its mess. Just for a bit, then she’d think about the future. She’d go to college like she planned, and resume her good girl lifestyle. One weekend wouldn’t kill her.
Y/N went to the bank, took out $5,000 in cash, and made her way back to the travel agency. The agent, a nice blonde woman named Heidi, took care of everything. She had a first class flight first thing Saturday morning, a beautiful hotel room on the strip with a king sized bed, and a return flight home Monday afternoon. It was all set, and Y/N was in high spirits. That was until she walked straight into Steve Harrington as she left the office’s front door.
“Y/N? Hey, uh, how are you holding up?” Steve asked. They had a bizarre friendship, her and Steve. It all started when she went out looking for her father on Halloween night. He had promised to be home at 5 to spend time with her and Eleven, and he was nowhere to be found. Who she found instead was Steve Harrington, nursing a heartbreak after Nancy told him their relationship was quote “bullshit.” Y/N couldn’t stand the sad puppy dog look on his face, and he did come through the year prior when they all went against the demogorgon.
So she took pity on him, and took him home and made him an ice cream sundae. It’s what her dad used to do with her and Sarah when they were sad. He would make dessert for dinner, whatever they had on hand, but sundae’s were always her favorite. That night she stayed over and they talked about anything and everything, Nancy, school, the future. It was nice, and they maintained that friendship for the past year and a half. Whenever things got too much they’d call each up, and make dessert for dinner. Before she realized it, she had started to fall for him. Y/N thought about what it would be like, to be with Steve. Strong dependable Steve. He never let her down when she needed him, but she broke that tradition when her dad died. Now all she gave him was radio silence for the past month. He called her often, but she never answered. This was the first time she spoke to him after it happened.
“I’m holding up alright… What about you?” She hated the cordial pleasantries, like they were strangers, but the guilt for ignoring him was weighing on her shoulders now.
“I’m good, the bruises on my face are finally gone. It’s nice not to wake up looking like raw hamburger.” That got a laugh out of her, and just like that the weight was gone. Steve didn’t seem upset with her for ignoring him. Things seemed okay.
“Well that’s good to hear. It would be a tragedy if your face maintained hamburger status forever, pretty boy.” Steve looked a bit bashful then, his hair bouncing around has he chuckled at her comment. Then he noticed where she was standing, or rather where she was leaving from.
“Are you going on vacation or something?” He asked.
“Um, yea sort of. I’m leaving Saturday morning for Vegas.” Steve looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his skull. It would have been a shock to anyone, Y/N Hopper taking a solo trip to Sin City.
“Are you going alone?” Steve had his hands on his hips, he was using the same voice he used on the kids when they were up to mischief.
“Yea. I was planning on it. Why?” She didn’t understand why he was acting this way. Like she was out of her mind, maybe she was, but she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She could make decisions and mistakes for herself.
“Why? Because it’s dangerous Y/N! You know the mob used to bury bodies out there! Who knows if they’re still at it! You can’t go alone, no way!” Steve said with exasperation.
“Well I am. I’ll be back on Monday, and it will all be fine. The decision is already made Steve. So I’ll see you later.” She could hear Steve’s protests as she got into her car and drove away, but she didn’t care. She had to go home and pack her bags, and not worry about Steve and his melodrama.
Y/N had never been on a plane before. The first class cabin was nice and spacious, she had the window seat, and the seat beside her was empty as the last passengers walked in. She hoped it remained empty, the last thing she wanted was some stranger try to make boring conversation with her. She looked out the window, soon she will be out of Hawkins. Away from everything that was wrong with that town. Eleven was staying with Joyce and the Byers boys, she had told her sister about her trip and told her when to expect her back. Joyce wasn’t as happy as El was about the news, her motherly instincts kicking in. She didn’t try to stop her, Y/N was just as stubborn as her father, she just told her to call if her if she needed anything. Now she was here, on her way to Vegas.
She felt someone settle in the seat next to her, but didn’t bother looking to see who it was. That was until she felt a tap on her shoulder. The girl turned her head to see what they wanted, only to find Steve Harrington sitting next to her.
“What the hell are you doing here Steve?” A hundred and one questions were running through her head. How did they let him on the plane? Was he trying to stop her? How did she know what flight she was on?
“I’m coming with you.” He said quietly as he buckled his seatbelt.
“What? How? Why?” Y/N asked, confused and mildly annoyed.
“I told you you shouldn’t go alone, it’s dangerous Y/N. I took my dad’s credit card and bought the seat next to yours, told the agent you were my girlfriend and that we were paying separately. It’s nice to know the old Harrington charm still works.”
Y/N was fuming. She didn’t ask for a babysitter, she could do this on her own.
“You’re getting a flight back to Indianapolis as soon as we land Steve. You had no right to follow me.” She tried to keep her voice down, not wanting to alert the fellow passengers.
“Look I’m sorry Y/N, but this isn’t like you. You’re not the type to drop thousands of dollar on a whim for a trip to Vegas. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, ya know, after everything.” Y/N took a deep breath. She shouldn’t be surprised, Steve always got himself into trouble for others. The over protective shit head.
“Fine, but don’t try to ruin my fun. For once in my goddamn life I want to do something exciting. Pretend I’m not the dead Chief of Police’s daughter for a weekend. Alright? If you promise not to mother hen me I’ll let you stay.” Y/N huffed out. Steve flashed his megawatt smile and settled into his seat. This was going to be a long flight.
They landed in Las Vegas with no issue. The taxi ride to the hotel was tense, Y/N was giving Steve the silent treatment. He tried to break the awkwardness with a witty remark every once in awhile, but she didn’t give him the satisfaction. After awhile he gave up.
They checked into the hotel in silence, and then Y/N realized another problem when they walked into the room. It was the lovers suite, the travel agent must have switched it when Steve said he was her boyfriend, the idiot. The heat rushed to her face when she looked around the room.
There was a heart shaped hot tub in the corner of the room, and on the other side was a large king sized bed with a mirror on the ceiling above it. A metal cart was placed in front of a velvet couch, a large bucket filled with champagne rested on top with boxes of chocolates next to it. There were rose petals scattered throughout the room, and everything was decorated in many different shades of red. At least the color would cover up the bloodstains when she killed Steve for this mess.
“Shit, I guess this is what Heidi meant when she gave us an upgrade.” Steve said awkwardly, his face as red as the room they were staying in.
“You’re taking the couch, and I’m taking a shower.” Y/N placed her bags next to the bed and grabbed all of her toiletries. She wouldn’t let this set back ruin her trip. Once she got into the bathroom, she turned the shower on as hot as it could go. As she felt the water cascade down her body she thought about what she would do for the rest of the day. One thing was for sure, she was going to open that bottle of champagne as soon as she could.
Y/N got dressed and ready in the bathroom, a black sequin dress hugging her frame. It was her mother’s from the 60s, Dad called it her Nancy Sinatra dress. It was at the dry cleaners when she left, and she never came back to get it. So it was Y/N’s now. It was the only thing that felt Vegas appropriate. Once her hair and makeup was done to her liking she finally walked out, Steve was sitting on the couch, dressed in a similar get up he wore on Halloween. She walked straight to the champagne bottle and popped it open, oblivious to the hungry stare Steve was giving her.
Steve had developed a crush on Y/N Hopper over the past year, and he finally admitted it to Robin when the Russians gave them that truth serum. That’s when she told him that she used to have feelings for her as well, before developing her crush on Tammy Thompson. Steve had said that Tammy wasn’t even in the same ballpark as Y/N, the poor girl sounded like a muppet and would totally get crushed in Nashville. That was how they became best friends, and that’s when Steve started to allow himself to feel something for his other best friend. He didn’t mean for it to happen, and he had no intention of telling her, not after Chief Hopper’s death. Steve did allow himself to look at her though, the short black dress leaving just enough for his imagination to run wild. He caught himself when she turned around, two glasses of champagne in hand. She passed one to him before taking her seat next to him on the couch.
“I have decided that we are going to have fun this weekend. No talk of psychic monsters or dead dads. You and I are going to get drunk, dance, play with slot machines, and have a good time. I think we deserve it ya know?” Y/N raised her champagne glass in a toast, and Steve tapped his glass against hers.
“No complaints from me.” They both drank their champagne in that cheesy hotel room, completely unaware of what would go down that evening.
Y/N felt a shooting pain in her skull when she regained consciousness. Her stomach was swirling with nausea and her eyes were sensitive to the light that was pouring into the room. She slowly opened her eyes to see the hotel room in complete disarray. Her mother’s dress was thrown across the metal cart that was dangerously close to falling into the hot tub, which was still on and bubbling. She could see something floating in the water, and to Y/N’s horror it was the bra she was wearing the previous day. The white lace cups bouncing against the walls of the red tub.
She looked down at her body, she was covered in glitter and was wearing a Hawkins basketball sweatshirt. It must have been Steve’s. Thankfully she still had underwear on, but then she noticed that it wasn’t the same pair she wore yesterday. She tried to remember what the hell happened the night before, but her memories were blurry. That’s when she heard a snore beside her on the bed. It was Steve, shirtless and his hairy chest was on display. Y/N didn’t have the courage to look below the covers to see if he was as bare below the waist as he was above.
He was still asleep, and Y/N took the opportunity to quietly get out of bed and clean up around the room. There was a mountain of cash in a duffle bag on the couch, and she had no idea if they had won it or robbed a bank. Steve’s clothes were thrown about the room, and she carefully picked them up and put them back in his suitcase. She finally found her purse amongst the carnage, and she noticed the fake ID she brought was missing. Her car keys, real driver’s license, and plane ticket home were thankfully still inside. There was at least one silver lining.
She tried her best to reorganize the room, but the hangover was getting worse. She needed an aspirin and water a soon as possible. When she went to go look for some she heard a groan from the other side of the room, Steve was finally awake.
“Jesus H. Christ my head hurts.” Steve complained. He sat up and finally opened his eyes. He noticed Y/N first, she was bent over looking through her suitcase. She had no pants on, and was wearing his sweatshirt. He looked down at himself and noticed he was half naked. The only thing on his body was his gray Calvin Klein boxers and one sock on his foot. Steve shot his head up, deer in headlights look pointed at Y/N.
“What the hell happened last night?” Steve croaked out, voice sore.
“I have no idea Steve! I only remember bits and pieces.” Y/N was pacing around the room, arms waving around. That’s when Steve noticed something on Y/N’s finger, and his stomach swooped when he realized what is was.
“Y/N… What’s that on your hand?” He really hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was. Y/N looked down at her finger, and finally noticed the piece of jewelry she wasn’t wearing yesterday.
“Steve, why am I wearing your class ring?” Y/N asked, voice stern. It reminded him of her dad. Steve tried to remember how his ring got on her finger, he vaguely remembered a small white room. Elvis was there, or a guy dressed up as him. There were flowers, and Y/N had a veil on her head…
“Holy shit, did we get hitched last night?” Steve yelled. He shot out of bed and nearly toppled over, he hadn’t had a hangover this brutal since sophomore year. Y/N didn’t pay attention to him as she stared at the ring on her finger. She remembered the little chapel now, a very drunk Steve struggling to put the ring on her finger. She remembered a flash going off, there was a photo.
Y/N started looking around the room, heart racing and hands shaking. She picked up her bags, the pillows on the bed, the empty bottles of champagne in the room. It was when she got to the duffle bag full of cash that she noticed a polaroid hanging out the side pocket, she carefully picked it up and what she saw made her jaw drop.
It was Steve, he had her mid dip, one hand holding her back and the other gripping the thigh she had wrapped around him. Y/N had her arms around his neck, bouquet in hand and a veil on her head. They were kissing, and a large banner above a fake Elvis said “Congratulations to the Bride and Groom!” and written on the bottom of the polaroid in neat cursive writing read “The Harringtons.”
Y/N’s blood ran cold. She married Steve last night. Steve Harrington was her husband. The memories were coming back to her. It was after Steve had won the jackpot from the slot machine, in all the excitement he had kissed her against the machine. She kissed him back. They were drunk and running on adrenaline, and decided it was a great idea to hit the strip with their winnings. Y/N had wanted to bring the duffle bag filled with the majority of their riches back to the hotel room, Steve had lost the hotel key and they had to trace their steps back. Instead of finding the key, they found The Little Vegas Chapel.
That’s when he went on this monologue about having a happy family, with six kids and a wife where they traveled across the country. Steve wanted to be a dad, be involved with his kids unlike his parents. Y/N always wanted to be a good mom, one who would never abandon her daughter like her mother did. Y/N had said she wanted the same thing, a big family, backyard, and a husband who loved her. She couldn’t remember what happened after that conversation, Steve had said something, they kissed again, and then they went inside The Little Vegas Chapel. Elvis had married them, and Y/N found the spare hotel key in her purse.
Y/N sat down on the couch and lifted her hand to show Steve the polaroid. He was finally dressed and slowly walked over to her. He took the photo from her hand, and immediately dropped on to the seat next to her.
“We’re married…” Steve said, voice barely above a whisper.
“Looks like it.” Y/N responded. He put the picture down on her lap and began pacing around the room, mumbling nonsense under his breath.
“Shit, shit, shit. I have to call Henderson.” Steve said as he went to grab the hotel phone. Y/N immediately hung it up before he could press dial.
“Don’t call Dustin!” Y/N yelled. The last thing she needed right now was for that big mouth to tell all of Hawkins about what happened.
“What do you mean don’t call Dustin? He might be able to help us figure this out!” Steve was yelling now too. He was nauseous, dizzy, and apparently married. Robin was gonna give him so much shit when he got home.
“How is a 14 year old going to help? He’s not a fucking divorce lawyer!” Y/N regretted her choice of words when she saw Steve’s face fall.
“One, he’s a very capable 14 year old. Two, Why are you immediately thinking about divorce? What, is the concept of being married to me so horrible?” Steve hated how insecure he sounded. His memories of last night were returning, and he remembered telling Y/N about his dreams for the future, that he loved her. She kissed him, but she didn’t say it back. He remembered that now. She agreed to marry him, but she never said she loved him. He felt sick to his stomach, and it wasn’t because of the hangover.
“Look, Steve. We’re 18 years old, we’re too young to be married. We did it while we were drunk, hell, you don’t even like me like that.” Y/N went to go sit on the bed again, she didn’t want to be standing for this conversation. Steve sat down next to her, his head in his hands barely containing the shaking in his body. He remained silent, so Y/N took that as a sign to continue.
“Steve you are my best friend. You’ve become one of my favorite people in my life, Jesus, now that dad’s gone you probably are my favorite person. I care about you so much, and the idea of marrying you… I know you would make an amazing husband. Your future wife will be the luckiest girl in the world, but when you thought about your future, with your six little nuggets traveling cross country, I’m almost positive it wasn’t me you pictured by your side.” Y/N tried not to cry. She knew she wasn’t Steve’s dream girl, it was Nancy Wheeler. Beautiful, smart, incredible Nancy. She was the love of Steve’s life, not her. Y/N knew that, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
There were so many things Steve wanted to say. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she was the one he pictured as his wife, the mother of his children. Nancy never wanted things like that, she wanted to focus on her career, and Steve didn’t judge her for that. Y/N was the one who tagged along with him on babysitting duty, she was such a natural with them. He wanted to tell her that he would be a good husband to her. That he would love her, be there for her in sickness and in health, in times of struggle and in times of joy. He didn’t realize how badly he wanted it until he saw that chapel on the Las Vegas strip. He wanted it with her, but she was right. They were too young, he hadn’t even gathered the nerve to ask her out on a date yet. They would figure this out, and maybe, one day, Y/N would want to marry him for real.
“So what do you want to do now?”