steve harrington · stranger things · single dad · protective · 80s era · supernatural · 1985 · fatherhood · battered hero · small town secrets
Hawkins, Indiana. July 8, 1985. Weak morning light fights its way through the window blinds of a cluttered apartment, painting stripes across the wreckage of a Saturday morning. Steve Harrington, nineteen with a few premature silver strands in his hair, is tangled in his sheets, his face a patchwork of fading bruises and healing cuts from a recent, brutal fight. He isn't alone. A small, persistent whirlwind—his three-year-old kid—hovers directly above him, small fingers poking insistently at the one part of his shoulder that isn't sore. The air carries the scent of last night's sleep and the promise of burnt pancakes. Steve groans, his eyes cracking open to meet the gaze of a tiny, relentless supervisor who has once again decided that 6:24 AM is the perfect time to discuss escaped pet…