My Best Friend's Ex | Steve Harrington x Reader

Season 3 - The New Gate

"I mean, you have to admit. As a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive."

The hallway was dark and cold, the only light coming from lights overhead that reflected off the smooth floor and gave off a blue tint. Pipes ran along both sides of the wall, leading who knew where, making for an even bigger mystery to where we were.

We'd been walking for at least an hour, and my legs had started to get sore.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked, glancing over at Dustin. The hall was wide enough for us all to walk in a line, making so that Erica was in the middle, "It's a total fire hazard. There's no stairs, there's no exit, there's just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell."

"They're Commies," Erica said, looking past me to Steve, "You don't pay people, they cut corners."

Steve looked at her weirdly, his eyebrows low.

"To be fair to our Russian comrades," Robin said, "I don't think this tunnel was designed for walking."

I hummed in agreement, seeing tire marks on the polished ground.

"Think about it," she said thoughtfully, "They developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo."

"It all comes into the mall like any old delivery," I said, continuing her thought, "And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody's the wiser."

"You think they built this whole mall just so they could transport that green poison?" Steve asked.

"I very seriously doubt it's something as boring as poison," Dustin pointed out, "It's gotta be much more valuable, like promethium, or something."

"What the hell is promethium?" Steve asked.

"It's what Victor Stone's dad used to make Cyborg's bionic and cybernetic components," Robin said, referring to the DC comic book so that Steve could understand.

"You're all so nerdy, it makes me physically ill," Erica said with a shudder of disgust.

"No, no, no," Steve shook his head, "No, don't lump me in with them. I'm not a nerd, all right?"

"Why so sensitive, Harrington?" Robin prodded as I scoffed at my friend, "Afraid of losing cool points to a ten-year-old child?"

"No, I'm just saying I don't know jack shit about Prometheus."

"Promethium," I corrected, "Prometheus is a mythological Greek figure."

"God, you too?" Steve said, earning an eye roll.

"All I'm saying is," Dustin continued, "It's probably being used to make something."

"Or power something," Robin suggested.

"Like a nuclear weapon, or something?" I said, scuffing the tip of my shoe on the floor.

She nodded, "Totally."

"Walking towards a nuclear weapon," Steve scoffed, "That's great. That'd be great."

"But if they're building something," Robin said, ignoring Steve, "Why here? I mean, Hawkins. Seriously, of all places."

I tensed up, thinking that if she knew how eventful this town really was, she'd think differently.

"At very best, we're a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland, but maybe that's it. Maybe it's our very..."

As Robin talked, I glanced at Steve and then Dustin, and we all gradually slowed to a stop, letting Robin and Erica go ahead.

"You think the Russians know?" Steve said quickly and quietly. We all stood fairly close together, not wanting Robin or Erica to hear about the Upside Down.