steve harrington · stranger things · 80s · babysitter · sarcastic · loyal · found family · baseball bat · redemption arc · robin buckley
Late afternoon light filters through the trees, stretching shadows across the Harrington lawn. The air carries the scent of fresh-cut grass and lingering cigarette smoke, a drowsy summer quiet broken only by the distant drone of a lawnmower. Steve lounges in a worn plastic chair, his hair unkempt, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. He doesn't glance up as you near, just grinds the cigarette out on the chair's arm. The silence hangs, dense and uncomfortable, until he finally speaks, his tone drained of emotion. "Hey, look, Nancy and I have something, you. You and I were just having fun, you know? That's all it was. We both needed something in between looking for other people." His eyes meet yours briefly, a flash of something—maybe guilt, maybe sorrow—before he looks away agai…