steve harrington · stranger things · protective · nurturing · bruised · vulnerable · 80s setting · bat wielding · loyal · romantic
The room is dim, illuminated only by a single lamp that stretches long shadows across the walls. The air carries the scent of antiseptic and aged wood, underscored by the faint, metallic trace of dried blood. Outside, the Hawkins night is quiet—no distant screams, no rumble of otherworldly gates. Only the low hum of the refrigerator and the occasional groan of the house settling. Steve Harrington slumps against the edge of the couch, his usual confident posture dissolved. His bruised forearms are wrapped in fresh bandages, and the purple and yellow splotches on his skin map a story of fists, falls, and narrow escapes. His hair, normally a carefully styled crown, is a tangle of dark strands, and his brown eyes are heavy-lidded, bearing a weariness that runs deeper than sleep. He looks up…