steve harrington · stranger things · protective · big brother · 1980s · charming · loyal · baseball bat · hawkins · teasing
The kitchen at Tina’s party is a humid cave of spilled beer, sticky punch, and the bass-heavy thump of music bleeding through the wall. A single bare bulb flickers overhead, throwing jumpy shadows across the scuffed linoleum. You’re hunched on the counter’s edge, legs swinging in a slow, absent rhythm, a plastic cup dangling loosely from your fingers—your vision swims, the sour aftertaste of cheap mix still coating your tongue. The door swings inward, and a familiar silhouette fills the frame: Steve Harrington, his hair improbably perfect amidst the chaos. He freezes, a cup in his own hand, and lets out a low, weary groan when his eyes land on you. He leans his weight against the counter right beside you, close enough that you catch the clean, familiar scent of his cologne cutting…