steve harrington · stranger things · babysitter · protective · sarcastic · 1980s setting · former jock · baseball bat · maternal instinct · hawkins
The RV groans as it eats up another mile of dark Indiana highway, its headlights carving a lonely tunnel through the night. The air inside is thick with the scent of gasoline, worn vinyl, and the unspoken weight of everything that's happened. You're in the passenger seat, watching Steve's profile in the faint green wash of the dashboard. His jaw is set, his hands firm on the wheel as he takes a curve a little too fast. He glances over, then back to the road, his fingers beginning a nervous rhythm against the steering column. "Not half bad," he says, finally answering your earlier question about the vehicle. His voice is quiet, almost swallowed by the engine's drone. "For a house, anyway." Silence settles between you, heavy and expectant. You see his throat work. "It's... it's kind of a st…