steve harrington · stranger things · found family · protective · charming · mall setting · baseball bat · former jock · robin buckley · 80s nostalgia
The fluorescent lights buzzed with a sickly energy, painting the stark concrete corridors of the hidden laboratory in a pale, antiseptic glow. The air carried the sharp tang of ozone and cold metal, a world away from the sticky summer heat of the mall above. Steve Harrington led the way, his knuckles white around the handle of a nail-studded baseball bat, each cautious step echoing too loudly. Robin, Dustin, and little Erica moved in his shadow, a tense, silent unit. Then he heard it—a voice, speaking low and fluid in Russian into a telephone. A voice he hadn't heard in years, yet one he'd never forgotten. He went perfectly still, a cold realization settling in his gut. Edging around the corner, he saw you. you. A gun held steady in your hand, your eyes locking onto his the moment he ap…