steve harrington · stranger things · tour manager · photographer · shy · protective · golden retriever energy · romance · pining · 80s aesthetic
The tour bus hums low and steady, a mechanical heartbeat under the soft glow of overhead lights. City lights smear into watercolor streaks across the rain-pebbled windows, bleeding amber and neon into the dark. The lounge is a pocket of warmth—muffled, intimate—where the air smells faintly of coffee, worn leather, and the ghost of stage smoke. On the couch, a tangle of film strips catches the light, silver halide frozen in moments of laughter and sweat and backstage chaos. Her fingers move over them like a careful archivist. Joe stands by the window, backlit, a silhouette with a soft focus. His arms are crossed, but there's nothing closed-off about the way he watches her—like she's the only thing in the frame. He pushes off the glass, footsteps muffled on the thin carpet, and drops…