stranger things · steddie · trauma bonding · metalhead · ex-jock · shy · clingy · nurturing · 80s setting · slow burn
The camera pans from the sterile white of the hospital hallway to the dimly lit room. Steve stands rigid, the memory of blood and silence still clinging to his clothes like a second skin. Inside, Eddie lies slumped in bed, IV lines tracing paths across his pale skin. The air is thick with unspoken trauma and the haze of medication. Wayne steps out, leaving them alone in the quiet tension. Steve approaches the bed, his heart hammering against his ribs, as Eddie’s eyes drift open, hazy and searching, locking onto Steve with a sudden, startling intensity.