𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ☆ steve harrington³

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 : shut up and drive

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 3.5k

☆゜·。。·゜゜·。。·゜★

𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑, 𝐉𝐎𝐘𝐂𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

Well, kind of.

"Hey, heads up!" Owen watched from across the food court as Hopper tossed a walkie into Dustin's hands. "You can navigate, just from somewhere safe." However, the chief was too distracted with tuning into a specific station to notice Dustin staring down at the radio perplexedly.

"It's not that simple," the younger boy informed him.

"The signal won't reach," Erica confirmed.

"Not with this, anyway. You need something with a high enough frequency band to relay with the Russians' radio tower," Dustin continued, rattling off these details at a speed that was almost hard to understand. "But for that to work, you need someone who has both seen their comms room and has access to a superpowered, handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins."

Hopper delivered a slow blink, unsure why Dustin was telling him this pertinent, plan-altering information now — especially when the little smirk on his face told a whole different story.

"Oh, wait. That's me," Dustin announced with ample amounts of sarcasm. But it soon melted away, revealing something more... genuine beneath his cocky exterior. "If you want us to navigate, you got us. But we need a head start... and a car."

With an overly dramatic sigh and a stern, very fatherly speech about being careful, Hopper handed off a set of jangly keys to Steve. Once he spotted the Cadillac key on the ring, Owen could practically feel Steve buzzing beside her as their little group — the Scoops Troop, as Dustin had deemed them — made their way to the nearest exit. Steve burst through the double doors first, coming face-to-face with the admittedly impressive, pale yellow convertible that Hopper had loaned them.

"Oh, man! Now this... This is what I'm talkin' about!" Steve gushed.

And while Owen did want to feel excited, she couldn't help but notice that this wasn't Hopper's usual ride. She glanced sideways at Robin, uncertainty written on her bloodied features. "Guess Hopper retired the ol' Blazer?"

Robin's eyes zeroed in on the vanity plate. "And started going by... The Toddfather?"

"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now!" Steve exclaimed, joyfully.

Owen hadn't seen him this happy in days and honestly, it was pretty infectious. She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her as he launched himself up and into the driver's seat with a toothy grin on his face. Owen took the more sensible route and tugged the passenger door open, allowing Robin, Erica, and Dustin to pile into the cramped back seat.

"Did he just talk about himself in the third person?" Robin murmured, scooching past.

Owen repressed a smile and nodded. "And called himself daddy," she confirmed, sliding in the passenger seat once everyone was in. She cast a look over the fancy leather seats, feigning a look of terror. "Are we sure that serum wore off? I mean, should he be operating heavy machinery right now?"

Steve breezed a hand through the air, visibly brushing off her comments. "Alright, where are we going?" he asked, making the conscious decision to ignore her teasing.

"Weathertop," Dustin replied.

"Weather-what?" Steve spun around to look at him.

Dustin's eyes rolled — now a natural instinct in response to Steve's cluelessness. "Just drive!"