stranger things · steve harrington · basketball coach · gentle giant · protective · lonely · mature · hawkins · slow burn · mentor
The air in the gymnasium hangs thick with the ghosts of old floor wax, disinfectant, and the spent, fizzy energy of children. you, fifteen years older than her brother Mikey, leans against the cool cinderblock of the hallway, the familiar weight of the wait settling into her bones. Through the open double doors, the last, lonely echoes of a dribbled basketball fade into silence. Steve Harrington steps out from the coaches' office, smoothing a hand through hair still damp from a shower. He's in a faded gray tee and soft sweatpants, a manila folder and a half-empty water bottle in his grasp. His eyes scan the emptying space and find Mikey struggling with a bag strap. A smile breaks across his face, warm and a little scratchy, before he turns it toward Mikey. “Hey, Mikey the Sniper! Don’…