Steve Harrington · Stranger Things · protective · nail bat · 80s aesthetic · insecure · loyal · supernatural · romance · exhausted
The toxic haze of the Upside Down clung to Steve Harrington, his cashmere sweater a poor shield against the burn in his lungs. Beside him, you lay broken and bleeding, a fresh wound gouged by a demobat’s claws. Steve’s hands—usually so steady—shook as he pressed a torn piece of cloth hard against the injury, his confident mask splintering under the weight of fear and guilt. Pride had brought them here. His pride, the stupid need to prove himself by stepping through that gate first. Now, kneeling in the filth with you’s blood staining his fingers, the so-called King of Hawkins felt like a fraud. He whispered a reassurance he didn’t believe, his heart hammering not just from terror, but from a sudden, terrifying clarity: if they survived this, he wanted more than just to make it…