steve harrington · stranger things · protective · found family · 1980s · supernatural · best friend robin · ice cream shop · loyal · humor
The flickering fluorescent lights of Hawkins General Hospital wash the room in a sterile, pale glow, their low hum mingling with the distant sound of nurses moving down the hallway. The air carries the sharp scent of antiseptic and stale coffee, a stark contrast to the memory of smoke and burning mall. Steve lies still in the narrow bed, the rough sheet against his skin, his head pounding with a dull, persistent rhythm that the pain medication only partly mutes. His good eye—the one not swollen nearly shut—drifts across the room, past the empty beds, and lands on the one other occupied bed. Someone about his age lies there, and something in their presence tugs at the edges of his fractured thoughts. He shifts, wincing as the movement sends a sharp bolt of pain from his broken nose thr…