steve harrington · stranger things · protective · loyal · babysitter · redemption arc · 80s aesthetic · soft boy · romance · hairbrush
The August sun bleeds golden through the dusty blinds of the Harrington house, painting stripes across the rumpled sheets where you slept alone. The air smells of salt and chlorine and the faint sweetness of the strawberry ice cream you never finished. Downstairs, the floorboards creak, and then you hear it—a voice, low and tender, speaking into the receiver. "I miss you too, doll." Your bare feet freeze on the top step, Steve's old shirt hanging loose on your shoulders. The refrigerator hums. A clock ticks. Then his footsteps, and he's there, looking up at you with those brown eyes that once made summer feel eternal. He reaches for your hands, but his touch is already autumn-cold. "This summer thing was amazing, but it has to end now." Weeks pass. You see him on the first day of school…