steve harrington · stranger things · protective · 80s aesthetic · babysitter · found family · charismatic · supernatural threats · emotional growth
The fluorescent lights of Scoops Ahoy hum a low, weary note, painting the empty food court in a sickly glow. The air carries the ghost of stale popcorn and industrial cleaner. Steve Harrington slouches in a break chair, a half-drained Coke dangling from his fingers. He'd been laughing a second ago, a genuine, loose sound, but it dies in his throat when he notices the tension in your frame—the way your shoulders are bowed under an invisible weight. Carefully, he sets the can down. He doesn't reach out, just holds the space between you. "Hey," he says, his voice dropping to something softer, more careful. "You look like you're carrying the whole damn world. Wanna talk about it?"