Protective Dad (Part 3)
Steve Harrington x Hopper!fem!reader
a/n: this is kinda everywhere, might continue when st4 is out in like 2 years. also it’s kinda like bad bc its less steve and more storyline. guys should i make part 4 the funeral???? lmk
prompt: @melxoxo23: “A story where the reader is hoppers daughter and dating Steve. And include Joyce. Maybe with some angst? And a happy ending! Please and thank you!!!”
Steve had been MIA for almost a day now, in addition to Robin and his young friend, Dustin. Your dad hadn’t been seen since the morning you left in a rage. The band of children took you in as one of their own after they explained to you the situation about the big bad monster coming back. Third time’s the charm. You never thought you’d have deal with it again, but it had been a while since anything bad had happened in Hawkins, it was only a matter of time. It didn’t explain why your boyfriend and your dad were yet to be seen.
Your sister, El, was on edge and very upset with Mike. Looks like dad got what he wanted.
The kids and you went around town for a while, trying to do whatever in your path to kill the Mind Flayer for good. You finally looped back around and made it to your cabin, and that’s when disaster struck.
El searched for the Mind Flayer, and it ended up finding her and attacking. It destroyed your cabin and in the midst of chaos, knocked you straight into a wall, hitting your head and opening a gash for blood to pour out of. That wasn’t as bad as what your sister got, though. It was a nasty-looking bite. You were oddly calm with all destruction around you, but it was time to book it since El was injured.
To the convenience store you went, to take care of your sister’s leg, you must. The group of nerve-ridden teens rushed around the store, taking anything they found useful. Max and you patched El up to the best of your abilities. Dustin had patched through the radio for about a minute, and you knew something was off. Your sister searched for Dustin and told the group where he was, then you were on your way.
“Are you sure that he said ‘gate?’” You asked her. “I mean, he is at the movies. I think he could’ve said great. I don’t know. It’s so confusing. How’s your leg?” You were rambling.
“Hurts.” El told you. Her leg was propped up on your lap. You had taken some ice from the store and wrapped it in a towel, trying to bring the swelling down. Jonathan had turned sharply, causing El to gasp in pain.
“Sorry, sorry, everyone alright?” He asked.
“We’re fine, just keep going!” You comforted your sister. Finally, you arrived at Starcourt and everyone piled out of the car and made a run for the mall. El was hobbling, poor thing. But she powered through it and rushed inside.
A car flew across the food court, and the dishelved group running from evil Russians came to a halt. Your group merged with Dustin’s and everyone reunited. You saw your boyfriend and ran into his arms.
“Oh, thank God you’re okay.” You held him tight.
“What happened to your head?” Steve investigated your injury. You pushed his hand away and tenderly rested your hand on his cheek.
“Are you kidding me, Steve? What happened to your face?” You stared at his massive swollen eye, wishing you could do something to help it.
“Well, it’s a long story,” he shrugged, “secret elevator, child endangerment, Russians, interrogation, getting drugged, making a break for it. It’s been a long day.” He chuckled through the pain. Then El let out a groan of pain and fell to the floor. You rushed to her side.
“It’s my leg!” They pulled the bandages off and watched as something underneath her leg move about. Robin was trying to distract everyone, including herself, while Jonathan found a knife to open the wound. Your sister screaming in pain as the knife sliced through her skin. She used her powers to remove the parasite while everyone watched in fear and disgust. It crawled away, but not before a boot squashed it. You all looked up to see the adults arrive.
“Dad?” You asked in disbelief. It’d only been two or three days since you’d seen him, but it felt like a lifetime. He came to you and El and engulfed you in a hug.
“I’m never letting you two leave the cabin again.” He joked. You laughed weakly.
“Yeah, about the cabin...” You sighed and avoided eye contact.
“Destroyed.” Lucas cut in. “Mind Flayer came through, it’s barely standing.” Hopper got up and exhaled deeply.
“Alright, catch us up.” He comforted El while the rest of the group walked the adults through the crazy last few days.
Steve explained what happened with the Russians, not even in complete detail, but every word of it made you tense up a little more. You wished you could’ve been there for him. His swelling had gone down some, but he was still covered in puke and blood. Everyone was arguing over how the plan should go, and you had your ideas, too.
“Dustin, Erica, Steve, Robin, y/n,” Your dad listed, “these are the keys to the car I borrowed.” Hopper handed the keys to Steve, and Joyce rolled her eyes at Hops half truth. “Go to wherever this kid says his radio station is.” You nodded in acceptance. “Steve, y/n, I’m putting you in the same group so you’re not worried about each other, got it?”
“Yes, dad. We got it.” You almost left, but hesitated and ran back to your dad. You hugged him tightly and whispered: “Please be careful, love you.” He hugged you back and smiled weakly.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. And I love you, too.” You went over to El, who was waiting for Murray to finish briefing Jonathan and Nancy on the locks.
“Hey, hun, be safe. I’ll see you soon.” You gave her a gentle hug, making sure not to hurt her. “Love you.” She hugged back and returned your words. You stroked her hair and ran back to Steve, you had to get communications up!
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Steve cheered when he saw the car your dad stole borrowed. You called shotgun and Steve hit the gas. You turned the radio on as a little distraction. Steve reached for your hand and grasped it tight. “Everything will be alright, baby.” All you could think about was your dad and your sister. The scenarios you were thinking in your head were awful. Dustin and Robin were talking about his maybe made-up girlfriend, and suddenly he yelled at Steve to turn into the dirt. Steve complied and the incline of the hill was too much for the “Toddfather.” You hopped out and ran upwards while the others followed.
You and Steve told the stories of the last few eventful days. You cringed as he described in full detail what brutal things he went through. He kept fixating on the little gash in your forehead, you don’t know how. The poor thing was bruised and bloody all over. But he was so worried about you. He kissed the top of your head and pulled you close.
“When this is all over, you could probably stay at my place since your cabin got destroyed.” Steve assured you.
“I don’t wanna even think about it right now.” You rested your head on his shoulder. He hummed and held you, trying to take in the quiet, calm moment. Until he looked at the town and saw the lights of Starcourt flashing, meaning the Mind Flayer was closing in.
“Guys...” Steve motioned to the blinking lights of the mall. Dustin called to the “Griswold Family,” but all the radio would transmit was loud growls. Steve made his way back to the car to save the day, and you followed. “Wait, y/n, you should stay here.” He told you.
“No way, I’m coming with you. Start the car.” You hopped in, and Robin climbed in the back. Steve didn’t have the time to protest. He started the car and booked it for Starcourt.
“Your dad’s gonna kill me of you get hurt.” He mumbled. After a few long minutes of speeding down the road, Steve collided with Billy’s car in the parking lot. You held on tight to the door of the car and the Toddfather spun. Steve checked on his passengers and watched in horror and shock as the Mind Flayer scaled the mall. A horn from Nancy’s car blared as they pulled up beside you, shouting for you to get in. Your half of the Scoops Troop combined forces with the Griswold Family. Once secure in the trunk, you let out a sigh of relief...and then looked out the window to see the monster chasing you. Dustin’s serenade was enough to keep your spirits up for two minutes or so.
The monster finally turned around, which meant you were turning around, too. Back to the mall you went. There were helicopter support teams heading the same way. Something was going down. By the time you got there, the Mind Flayer was down and emergency services was taking care of your friends. Steve and you got check ups, and you rushed to El to make sure she was okay. She most definitely was not, she told you everything. She hugged you as tight as she possibly could, not wanting to let go. Steve was with Robin, watching as you and your sister comforted each other. But this wasn’t the end of your bad night. You and El saw as Will ran up to his mom. She looked at you with tears streaming down her face, staring at you and your sister, shaking her head. That’s when you realized what happened. You burst into tears and fell to the ground, Steve ran towards you and grabbed you. El was shaking her head, denying the impossible.
“Hey, hey, I’ve got you. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He comforted. “I’m sorry, y/n, I’m so sorry.” Steve let out some of his own tears. He invited El into the hug. She gave in and unleashed her emotions. What were you to do? What was she to do? You were blindsided and nobody had even spoke the truth yet. They didn’t have to. “You two can stay at my house for the next few days, just come and stay. I’ll be here for you.” He assured. When you had finally calmed down as much as you could, you sat still and silent on the pavement, holding your sister’s hand tight. Steve decided it was best to walk away for a moment and give you some time to process before he took you to his place. He shakily headed towards Robin.
“Everything alright?” She asked regretfully. Steve shook his head, swallowing back tears.
“No, no it’s not.” He broke, feeling bad that he was upset over your loss. Tears poured down his face. “She lost her dad, Robin. I can’t imagine what she’s going through. I hate that I’m crying because I don’t deserve to. I’ve known her dad for a couple years now, and he didn’t always like me, but it’s hitting hard. This isn’t how this is supposed to be. I can’t believe this.” He went on a rant and Robin pulled him into a hug.
“Steve, take a minute, pull yourself together,” she rested a hand on his shoulder, “take her and her sister home. Stay with them. They need support. This is hell for them.” Steve took a couple deep breaths and headed back over to you guys.
“Are you ready to go?” He asked, holding each hand out to help you and El up. You both grabbed either hand and he pulled upwards. “They found my keys with the Russians, so I got them back.” He pulled them out and unlocked the car doors for you. You silently sobbed in the backseat with your sister beside you.
“Thank you, Steve.” El whispered. You pulled her closer to you and felt her shaking.
“Anytime.” He was scared to speak, if he was being honest. It was a tense situation, on top of the earlier events. He was just glad that you and everybody else were okay, but he mourned your father with you. He pulled into the driveway of his house and helped get El inside. She took a shower first, and you helped rebandage her injury. Steve took a shower next to clean the blood and puke. While he was bathing, you rummaged through his closet for your clothes, something for El to wear to bed. She fell asleep in Steve’s room. You grabbed some clothes for him so he didn’t wake your sister up. You cleaned up Steve’s cuts when he got out. It was finally your turn for the shower, and you let the dirt and blood run down the drain, taking in the peaceful moment. You deep cleaned yourself, what you’ve wanted to do since the Mind Flayer’s disgusting goo dripped onto you. You stepped out of the shower and fixed the gash on your forehead with a butterfly bandage, grabbed everyone’s dirty clothes, and threw them into the washing machine. You put on Steve’s sweatpants and shirt, and walked into the living room. It was covered in pillows and blankets. Steve stood awkwardly in the center of the room.
“I, uh, I know how you get after encounters like these. I brought out some snacks and your favorite movies. And of course, I made a fort. I figured you wouldn’t be able to sleep no matter how exhausted you were. I don’t know if you wanna talk about it or sit in silence and cuddle or pretend like it didn’t happen, but whatever you wanna do, I’m cool with it.” He explained in detail. You scanned the room, thinking about your response, but you quickly resulted to crying. He approached carefully and pulled you into a strong hug that made you feel safe and warm. You tried to keep your sobs quiet, as not to wake your sister. “Shhhh, babygirl, I’ve got you. You’re safe here.” He said anything comforting that could come to mind.
“I love you.” You said through your suffocating sobs.
“I love you, too. Do you wanna put a movie on?” You nodded at the suggestion. He picked out your comfort movie and stuck it in the player, then sat next to you on the mound of pillows. You held the bowl of popcorn, almost protectively. You didn’t want to admit you were scared the Mind Flayer was going to come back to look for you tonight. You wanted the lights on as a precaution. Steve allowed it, anything to make you feel better. He put his arm around you shoulder and pulled you closer to him. He would do anything in that moment to shield you from the awful outside world. You deserved none of what you got on this cruel summer night, but you believed you did. Your last few memories with your dad were fighting and stress and resentment. You relived it over and over again that night. You couldn’t pull your mind off of the scarring reality of tonight.
After endless hours of mind-numbing movies, you passed out. Steve refused to fall asleep before you, he didn’t want you to be alone. Even in sleep, you looked stressed as can be.
Steve woke up before you and El, so he made breakfast. You had always told him about El’s Eggo obsession, so that was her own personal plate. He made your favorite foods for breakfast and put them together all nice. You and El woke up nearly simultaneously and grouped in the kitchen.
“Let’s start this day on a relatively good note, ladies.” Steve handed you two your corresponding plates. Ahead of you was quite the journey to healing.
