𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞; 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭

Song: De Selby (Part 2) by Hozier

Warnings: swearing, very emotional I guess?, idk what else

Author's Note: I think I might be adjusting so my posting schedule MIGHT be more routine haha! Also I included a Hozier song just because I liked it lol

"Excuse me?" Steve couldn't believe the words muttered from his boss' mouth. Steve shoved the cut-up newspapers back on the desk where he found them. "You're fucking kidding me, right?" Steve's jaw was ajar, his eyes narrowed at Jo's father.

"You're not hearing me, Steve. It'd be closely monitored, and Jo knows how to defend herself. I guess what I'm trying to say is; she wouldn't be entirely in the dark here-"

"No, what you're telling me is that you're willingly putting your daughter in harm's way because you want to catch this guy without putting in serious effort. Have you even told Jo, or will you spring that on her too?" Steve was furious, his voice raised as he paced the room to vent his frustration.

Hopper gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about?" Hopper hid things from Jo. That was no secret. But recently, he'd been purposefully keeping her away from certain opportunities to prevent her from rising through the ranks.

"You know exactly what I mean. I had to tell her she wasn't ready to go out in the field when that girl got murdered the other day because you didn't have the heart to tell her you didn't want her involved in the process!" Steve shouted at him, his finger pointed at Hopper.

"But now you want to intentionally put her in danger so nobody else has to die, right? Even if you kill her in the goddamn process." Steve scoffed at him, running a hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat that he didn't even know had formed. Earlier conversations with Jo had escaped his mind already. This revelation proved to be a far more threatening idea.

"It will be safe. Why do you care so much, anyway? Jo is sturdy, and she's eager to impress! She'll agree to it without question when I ask her." Hopper sighed as he kicked his feet onto the table, a hot cup of coffee in his hand.

"I thought you were a good man, Hopper. That's why I started here. Maybe I was wrong."

Steve glared at Hopper, his fists clenched after a revved-up conversation with the man he looked up to ever since he offered Steve a job.

Jo sat at her desk, her fingers effortlessly dancing across the black keyboard. The clacking was a welcoming noise to distract her from her inner turmoil. Aware that not telling her best friend about her relationship with Steve was considered a capital crime in their friendship, Jo kept her mouth shut, ignoring the screaming in her head.

Apparently, she wasn't hiding it well, because Robin questioned her anyway. "Why are you grinning so hard?" Robin looked the woman up and down, immediately suspicious of Jo's happy aura she was radiating.

Her eyes widened at the sound of Robin's voice. "Hm? How are you and Vickie?" She crossed her arms across her chest, the sleeves of her jacket bunching up at her forearms as she spoke.

"Don't you dare change the subject, Jo Hopper! What happened after the phone call with him? You on good terms?" Robin had no idea. Jo and Steve were on great terms. Jo began to speak, but her words fell short when shouting could be heard from her father's office. The station erupted in inaudible whispers as the sound of Steve's voice could be heard shouting, too muffled to be heard correctly.

"What's got him so worked up?" Robin questioned, her eyes trained on Jo as she glanced at the office door with concern written on her face. Was he talking about her?