"Are you ready?" Hopper asked, wiping his watery eyes.

Sarah took a deep breath before turning to look at her dad because she knew the second that she laid eyes on him, the tears would get her too. "Yes," she answered confidently, her eyes beginning to water.

"You don't have to go through with this, you know," Hopper informed her, stepping forward to take her hands in his. He gripped them tight as he stared into her eyes with a serious expression. "The exit is right there and my truck is parked up front. We can go straight to the airport and fly to Costa Rica or Thailand or something."

A laugh erupted from Sarah, offering a short reprieve from the full-blown tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "No, I'm okay. I want to do this."

Hopper smiled, breaking the serious façade as he wiped away a tear from her cheek. "Can you just do your old man a favor first?"

"What's that?"

"Can you open a portal for me back to the day you were born?" Hopper choked on his words but his smile remained strong. "You grew up way too fast and I didn't even get to be there for most of it."

"But you're here now and that's all that matters," Sarah reminded him with a matching smile. "So are you ready?"

Hopper took a deep breath as Sarah weaved her arm between his and they turned to face the entrance. "Yes," he answered confidently.

The doors before them opened to a packed church, pews full with smiling faces from multiple worlds. As Sarah and Hopper slowly made their way down the aisle, Sarah picked out some familiar faces in the crowd: Chief Powell, Officer Callahan, along with some of the other members of the Hawkins Police Department; Amelia and Daniel sitting beside some of Sarah' old teammates; Adam and James, the latter of which gave her a wink and a nod of his head when she caught his eye; and even Quinn, who sat towards the back of the church with a supportive smile on her face.

The train of Sarah's pearly white dress dragged across the pink and red rose petals that littered the floor. The trail of petals led to Barb, who was only a little farther up the aisle, pulling fistfuls of flowers from a wicker basket and scattering them across the floor. Her younger brother, Robert, ambled beside her in a little suit with a cushion strapped to his wrist to which two gleaming rings were attached. Sarah chuckled when Robert decided to give up just before reaching his destination, dropping to his butt on the ground and refusing to move any further despite his older sister's attempts to get him back to his feet. Eventually, Mrs. Wheeler had to exit her pew and pick him up, carrying him the rest of the way.

Sarah's eyes followed them to the end of the aisle where Steve was waiting for her. He wore a dark gray suit with a red rose pinned to his lapel, his navy blue tie pressed flat and his hair tamed with copious amounts of Farrah Fawcett hairspray. He watched her through watery eyes, stray tears dripping over a sparkling smile. Upon seeing him, the distance between them suddenly felt immensely far; but then again, anything other than his arms was too far a distance.

Hopper pulled Sarah into his arms when they reached the altar, holding onto her as long as he could. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied.

Hopper finally relinquished his grip when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Steve and a smile split his face as he grabbed Steve's hand, giving it a solid shake before pulling him in for his own hug. He imparted a message to Steve, this one much less affectionate: "I may not be the Chief anymore but I still have connections so you better take good care of her."

Steve pulled away with a nervous chuckle, his eyes studying Hopper's face for any hint that he was joking and finding none. Hopper left him to soak in the threat, joining Joyce and Steve's parents in the front pew. Clearing his throat and wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead, Steve turned to meet his bride but found another obstacle in his way: Eleven.

"You're so beautiful," Eleven cried, her arms wrapped tightly around her sister. Sarah reciprocated the hug and Steve had to peel the two apart to commence with the ceremony. Eleven begrudgingly returned to her spot on the left side of the altar as the Maid of Honor, joining her fellow bridesmaids, Max, Nancy, Robin, and Vickie. Standing opposite to them on the right side of the altar was the Best Man, Dustin, followed by the groomsmen, Lucas, Jonathan, Will, and Mike.

The ceremony was brief but beautiful and by the end of it, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Sarah and Steve both shared their own vows, and despite having written them apart, they were almost verbatim.

"My beloved, Steve..."

"Sarah, my beloved..."

"Love had always been such a foreign concept to me...that is, until I met you..."

"I thought I had love all figured out but meeting you showed me that I still had a lot to learn..."

"Through you, I learned that love is patient..."

"You taught me that love waits..."

"Ten years patient, in fact...it felt so long, so agonizing, but when I saw you again it felt like no time had passed at all..."

"Losing you was to lose everything and while I may have given in, you never gave up..."

"Love is understanding..."

"Love understands..."

"I come from a world that scares most, but you embraced me anyways...You loved me despite my differences..."

"I won't lie, you scared me at first. But not for the reasons you think. You're a superhero and I'm just...Steve. And yet despite my faults, despite my weaknesses, you chose me..."

"Love is fierce..."

"Love protects..."

"What you put yourself through...for me...it's unfathomable. Danger never stopped you, and there was lots of it. I never felt safe until I met you..."

"I tried my fair share at keeping you safe, but you're so powerful that most of the time it was you saving me. In more ways than one..."

"Love is patient, love is understanding, love is fierce...but most of all, love is you."

"Love waits, love understands, love protects...but above all else, love is you."

After exchanging rings, saying "I do", proclaiming them husband and wife, and lots of cheering, the wedding was over.

And their happily ever after was officially begun.

"Happy twenty-fifth anniversary, my beloved," Steve said to Sarah, taking her hand in his. They sat beside each other at the kitchen table, watching the pearly snowflakes outside the window dance their slow, wistful descent to the ground. It had been 25 years of peace and quiet. Sure, there were bumps here and there, but nothing compared to what they had dealt with in the past.

"Happy anniversary, beloved," Sarah replied, a warm smile spread across her cheeks. There were a few wrinkles lining her face, and some white strands of hair tucked behind her ear, but with Steve by her side she never felt old.

Steve had collected some of his own wrinkles, and maybe a little extra weight around the middle, but his hair remained as full and as glorious as ever.

"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" another voice congratulated them, seemingly coming from out of nowhere because it had come from out of nowhere.

"Helia Diane Harrington, what have I told you about teleporting unannounced? You're going to give me a heart—oh, here it comes," Steve said, clutching his chest and slumping in his chair. His arm fell to the ground, his fingers dangling above the tiled floor as his eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. He remained like that for a moment, until his body jerked and he let out a zombie-like groan. He did this a few more times and when he still didn't get the response he wanted, he gave up and pushed himself back up in his seat. "You guys are no fun," he pouted.

"You're such a drama queen," Helia retorted. She rolled her bright blue eyes, the very same her mother watched her fondly with. Her brown hair flowed in perfect waves to the middle of her back, the glossy glow which came from her father's genes. She was 21, the very same age Sarah had been when she first came to Hawkins. And like Sarah, she had also been born with abilities: teleportation. While they weren't as strong as her mother's, since she was only a quarter-Helian (or Noxian, as they were now known), she was just as spirited.

"I'm inclined to agree with Lia," Sarah replied with a playful punch to Steve's shoulder, to which he once more faked anguish by rubbing it vigorously. "How was grandpa and grandma's?"

"Good," Lia answered, pulling a chair out and taking a seat between them. "They told me to tell you that they're enjoying the beach and that you should come visit again soon. Oh, and happy anniversary, of course."

Hopper and Joyce had moved to California a few years previous, a dream that Joyce had always harbored, where they lived in a retirement community on the coast. While it was tough not getting to see them every day, they were just a portal away. Or a teleport away, in Lia's case.

Lia picked up the steaming mug of freshly-poured coffee sitting before Steve and took a sip, much to Steve's chagrin. Upon touching her taste buds, Lia's face curled in disgust. "Yuck, I don't know how you drink that."

Steve raised his hands in disbelief, unable to even respond.

"Do you guys have any plans to celebrate?" Lia asked. "Dinner at Enzo's?"

"No, I'm getting a bit sick of Enzo's if I'm being honest," Sarah answered. "We're not going to do much today but Auntie El and Uncle Mike offered to let us use their cabin for a week."

After the whole debacle with Quinn, Eleven had returned to Oregon and Mike had followed not too long after. They were now close to celebrating their own anniversary of 18 years and had three kids, all three of which had their own unique abilities including hydrokinesis, astral projection, and metal manipulation.

"Sounds like fun," Lia replied, her hand reaching for Steve's mug again but this time he was able to beat her to it.

"How's school been?" Steve asked, his eyes constantly darting between Lia's hand and his coffee.

"Boring as ever," Lia replied with an exaggerated groan. "But Uncle James tells me he can get me a job with NDO this summer. With my abilities, he said I'd be a good match."

NDO, or the Noxia Diplomacy Office, was a vision started by Quinn. Following in her father's footsteps, her goal was to create an alliance between Noxians and humans. It hadn't been easy at first; Hawkins had been their guinea pig and many citizens had been resistant and even hostile, at first. But over time they came to accept the Noxians as their neighbors and soon news began to spread across the state and even the country. NDO employed Noxians and humans to travel as diplomats, establishing connections across the world. It had pretty much been a dream of Lia's since she could walk.

Steve rolled his eyes at the mention of James but he kept his thoughts to himself. Twenty-five years later and the two still didn't get along but they were at least civil. Adam had long since retired from his role as the leader of Noxia, and while somebody else had stepped in to fill the opening, James still remained a loyal assistant. James had never admitted it, but Sarah believed he did so as a way to pay for his sins. Thirty-five years ago he had wanted to control the dimension and now he was helping it to flourish. They had all come a long way.

Lucas and Max were married a year before Steve and Sarah in a small ceremony on the beach in California. They had a son, who was now graduated but had been the star basketball player of Hawkins High during his tenure there, and a daughter, who graduated the same year as Lia and was her best friend. Lucas and Max met every week for a double date at Sarah and Steve's where they drank wine and played games (Monopoly excluded).

Dustin moved out to Utah for a brief stint once himself and Suzie, a girl he had met at a conference in Salt Lake City, started dating officially. They remained out there for a few years but when Dustin's mother became sick, they moved back to Hawkins to help take care of her. They now had a litter of five kids, each more chaotic than, but just as genius as, the last. And while Suzie was the breadwinner, moving up the ranks at IBM, Dustin took to being a stay-at-home father like it was his one true calling.

Will started seeing his classmate, Ryan, after returning to NYU to finish his degree. They had kept their relationship private from everyone else until one day Will visited home with a ring on his finger. They remained in New York, where they both found jobs as illustrators for major publishing houses. Their tiny apartment was covered from floor-to-ceiling with beautiful drawings and paintings of the two together with their daughter as one big, happy family.

Jonathan and Nancy still remained in Indianapolis, working for the Indianapolis Tribune, but Nancy was now the editor-in-chief and Jonathan was an award-winning photographer. Barb followed in her parents' footsteps and began working for the Indianapolis Tribune as a journalist right after graduating from college, while Robert followed in the footsteps of his namesake and went into AV.

Robin and Vickie remained in Hawkins for a long while, both running the Silver Cat together, until they made enough to sell the business and use the money to travel the world. Sarah and Steve had received a pile of postcards from all corners of the globe, from Australia to Zimbabwe, and the stack just kept growing.

"That's excellent, Lia, we're so proud of you," Sarah smiled, placing her hand on Lia's. Sarah hadn't really had a mother growing up, and when she did, it was a relationship filled with lies and mistrust. She had been determined not to replicate that with her own daughter. And while she made mistakes, like every parent did, she made sure that Lia knew that she loved and trusted her. And Lia did the same.

"So...I'm 21...I think it's about time you tell me the story," Lia said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Sarah and Steve exchanged a look of confusion.

"What story?"

"You know, the story. The story of how you both met and fell in L-O-V-E."

"We've told you about it before..." Steve began when Lia cut him off.

"I've heard bits and pieces but never the whole thing from start to finish."

"You really want to hear it? It's long...and not all of it is pretty..." Sarah cautioned her.

In response, Lia pulled her chair closer to the table and leaned in, her chin resting on her hands. "Spare no details," Lia said, her nose crinkling the moment the words left her mouth. "Well, spare some details."

Sarah exchanged another glance with Steve, who shrugged and reclined back in his chair. "You start," he told her. "I'll fill in where I can."

"Alright..." Sarah began, a smile spreading across her face as memories flooded back to her. "It all started on June 5th, 1971, with the beeping of a machine..."

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