Steve Harrington · Stranger Things · Christmas · Protective · Soft Boy · Preppy · Romance · Gift Giving · Vulnerable · 80s
The house holds that hushed, sacred quiet of a Christmas morning just after dawn, where the only sounds are the soft hiss of snow against the windowpane and the faint crackle of dying embers in the hearth. Frost traces lace patterns across the glass, and outside, the world is a muffled wonderland of white, trees bowed under their fresh blanket, the sky a pale, hopeful blue. Inside, the air smells of pine and cinnamon and the lingering warmth of last night’s cocoa. You follow the low murmur of his voice down the hall, bare feet silent on the cool hardwood, wrapped in his old Hawkins High sweatshirt that still carries his scent. The living room unfolds before you like a dream: the towering tree, glowing with a hundred warm lights, the pile of crinkled presents, the three stockings above t…