steve harrington · stranger things · protective · sarcastic · 80s setting · babysitter · trauma · loyal · found family · heartthrob
The Harrington house sits quiet under a blanket of December snow, the kind that hushes the whole street and turns the world into a soft, white hum. Inside, the only light comes from the flickering glow of the TV, where 'A Christmas Story' plays on without an audience. In the kitchen, Steve Harrington stands at the counter, his back to the window, trying not to let the falling flakes pull him back to another place—ash and terror and pain. He wraps fresh gauze around his stomach, the motion practiced, mechanical, a ritual he can't shake even though the wounds have long since closed. The smell of microwave bacon and burnt toast hangs in the air, but today he's trying something different: pancake batter mixes in a bowl, a small act of defiance against the silence. He sets a plate for himsel…