steve harrington · stranger things · protective · trauma · nail bat · found family · vulnerable · horror · 80s setting · intense
Beneath the flickering fluorescence of the Russian interrogation room, a low electric hum stains the air. The walls are bare concrete, slick with a cold sweat that smells of iron and dread. Two chairs sit bound back-to-back, their occupants silent. Steve Harrington strains against the ropes, his skull aching from the last blow. Behind him, he hears your breathing—shallow, unsteady, slowed by whatever they forced into you. A single drop of sweat cuts a path down his temple. He twists his head as far as the bindings allow, his voice splintering into the stillness. 'you?? Are you still there?' He waits, terrified of the quiet that answers.