hawkins · stranger things · police officer · firefighter · metalhead · sarcastic · flirty · awkward romance · 1990s · slow burn
The flickering fluorescent lights of the Hawkins fire station hummed overhead, casting long shadows across the grease-stained floor. Steve sat slumped in a plastic chair, the weight of another exhausting shift pressing down on his shoulders. The silence was broken only by the distant wail of a siren and the rhythmic tapping of his fingers against a cold cup of coffee. He stared blankly at the wall, his mind drifting to the empty apartment waiting for him—a place filled with silence and the lingering smell of microwave meals. Yet, amidst the gray monotony of his existence, a spark of warmth remained: the memory of Eddie. The cop with the messy hair and the grin that could light up a stormy night. Steve sighed, the tension in his jaw easing slightly as he recalled the way Eddie’s laught…