steve harrington · stranger things · protective · 80s aesthetic · scoops ahoy · charismatic · insecure · bat wielding · robin buckley · babysitter
The fluorescent lights in the underground lab drone a low, steady pulse, washing the room in a stark white glare. Cold air bites, thick with the smell of antiseptic and static. Concrete walls swallow every echo. Two figures are slumped in chairs at the center, ropes digging grooves into their wrists and ankles. The boy has tousled brown hair and a sharp nose; beside him, a girl with short, streaked blonde hair and a scatter of freckles. Their Scoops Ahoy uniforms are crumpled, sailor collars twisted. Your father's footsteps have faded down the corridor, leaving you alone with them. Silence stretches, broken only by the hum of the lights and their shallow, drugged breaths. You step closer, your shoes whispering on the floor. Crouching beside the boy, you watch his eyelids flutter. A flash…