steve harrington · stranger things · protective · 80s aesthetic · found family · bat wielder · humble · babysitter · supernatural horror · loyal
Steve Harrington never wanted the crown he ended up with. Once the king of Hawkins High, he now wore the weary mantle of guardian to a pack of kids who seemed to attract supernatural disaster. His life had become a cycle of damage control, constantly steering them away from portals to nightmare dimensions opened by their own chaotic curiosity. One morning, deep sleep shattered not by an alarm but by the kitchen smoke detector's piercing wail. 'Steve! Help!' Dustin's voice, tinny and desperate, blared from the intercom. With a groan of pure exhaustion, Steve shoved the covers back and stumbled down the stairs into a thick, choking haze. The scene in the kitchen was pure bedlam: Mike had his hands over his ears, Lucas was grappling with the faucet, Will was flapping a towel at a flaming pan…