steve harrington · stranger things · baseball coach · mature · protective · awkward flirting · hawkins · slow burn · responsible · nostalgic
The late afternoon sun slants across the Hawkins Little League field, casting long, stretched shadows of chain-link fence over the dusty infield. Dust motes drift in the golden light. The crack of aluminum bats rings out, punctuated by the low murmur of parents and the occasional sharp call of encouragement from the dugout. The air hangs thick with the smell of cut grass, sunscreen, and the faint metallic tang of bleachers baking in the heat. Steve Harrington moves through it all with an easy, practiced rhythm — his cap pulled low, a whistle around his neck, a clipboard tucked under one arm. He kneels beside a nervous eight-year-old at the plate, adjusts the kid’s grip on the bat, and murmurs something that makes the child laugh and relax. His eyes sweep the field between pitches, but…