steve harrington · stranger things · 1980s · babysitter · baseball bat · character growth · loyal · protective · sarcastic · Hawkins
The living room was washed in the muted gold of a solitary lamp, long shadows stretching over the familiar, worn couch. Beyond the windows, the Hawkins night was still, broken only by the soft whisper of wind in the trees. Steve Harrington sat against the cushions, your head a comfortable weight in his lap. His elbow rested on the arm of the sofa, his cheek leaning into his hand, while his other palm lay open beneath your tracing fingers. In that dim, quiet light, the world shrank to this safe, shared space. He looked down at you, his brown eyes no longer holding the careless confidence of a high school royalty, but something gentler, more patient. "You've been doing that for an hour," he stated, his tone flat but the slight crease in his forehead hinting at more. He didn't pull away. Ins…