𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 // 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

3-3: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard

"Thanks." Steve muttered to me as he came inside. I shut the window behind him and he made himself comfy by sitting on my bed. I came over and sat next to him. "So, what's up?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know. There's an alternate dimension right below our feet and possibly even the Russian government." I grinned and looked at him, trying to make light of the situation. Steve was still clearly pretty sleepy but was trying to put on a more energetic attitude.

"I mean, it could be worse." Steve mentioned. "And besides, if it weren't for these Russians, we wouldn't get ridiculously wealthy for busting them in the future." 

"But that's the thing, Steve. We don't know what we're getting into." I mumbled, shifting the mood a bit. "This could end up being seriously dangerous. What if someone got hurt? Dustin? Robin? You?" I sighed to myself.

Steve stared at me, trying to figure out what to say before he simply shrugged. "Hey, we've been fine in the past. We've literally killed monsters, (Y/n). What's a couple of commies?" Steve said, trying to make me feel better. I glanced up at him, meeting his eyes before looking away.

"I don't know. Maybe because they're actual people, it just feels more dangerous to me this time. Like, I can actually wrap my mind around everything because it feels more real." I mentioned before looking back at Steve with a small smile. "And you've never actually won a fight before, so I have less faith in our resident protector this time around." 

"Resident protector?" Steve asked with a chuckle. "That's a new one." 

"Well, yeah. You're always the one freaking out about everyone's safety, especially the kids." I shrugged. "It's like you think of them as younger siblings, you know? It's pretty sweet to see, actually." 

Steve went silent for a couple of seconds before he looked away from me. "Yeah, those shits always get into a lot of trouble." He looked back towards me. "If it wasn't for me, I guarantee you they would be a lot more screwed up." 

"Well, yeah." I grinned. "Like that time you beat Billy's ass to save Max and Lucas. If you weren't there, I don't even want to imagine what would've happened." I shivered at the thought. "Or when you saved Mike from those tentacle things in the tunnels." I smiled as I kept thinking up times when Steve protected the kids at the cost of his own safety. "And when Dustin and I couldn't get out of the tunnels quick enough, so you stood in front of us when those Demo-dogs came running at us." 

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm awesome." Steve said and I rolled my eyes with a grin. I yawned a bit, actually feeling tired for once in the last few hours. Steve raised an eyebrow. "You're finally getting tired?" 

I shrugged. "Maybe. Yeah, I am." I nodded as I scooted back on my bed a bit. 

"Should I-- Should I go, or...?" Steve mumbled as he nodded towards the window. 

"You don't have to." I quickly spat out without much thought. I noticed Steve's eyebrows raise.

"Oh, okay." He stuttered a bit through his words.

"Ah, shit, but you have work tomorrow." I muttered to him which caused him to just shrug. 

"You're coming tomorrow anyway, right? Why not just come into work with me?" 

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I wouldn't want to cause you to be late." 

Steve nodded. "Being late for work is the least of my concerns recently." 

"What's your biggest concern? Finding yourself a girlfriend?" I teased him.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, okay? At least I'm trying. It's that dumb uniform that's bringing my game down."