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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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The fourth and final chapter can be found here

Or finish the amazing story beyond the picture

Chapter 4: Looking Towards the Future

The snow made way for cold winds and rain, but the sun was constantly working its hardest to show itself and Billy Hargrove was no different.

When school restarted after winter break, Billy worked hard not to go back into the shell he had been living in. Since he didn’t understand this sudden feeling to retreat, he asked his therapist about it. They assured him it was all a process and some days will be harder than others to manage his depression and fears and others will be a walk in the park.

Meanwhile, Steve was watching Billy slip backwards and didn’t know how to catch him. Billy had gained so much ground socially. He would greet people in the hallways and he was even raising his hand in class sometimes to answer questions, but it all changed after New Year. When they went back to school, he was quiet and reserved again. He deduced it might’ve been the workload that was placed upon all the seniors leading to graduation, so when he saw the poster for the Valentine’s Day dance, he hoped it would help Billy loosen up a bit.

“Billy, it’s February,” Steve said softly one night as they cuddled together. “The Valentine’s Day dance is coming up and I hear the theme this year is love overcomes all obstacles. It reminded me of us.”

Billy just nodded again and pulled Steve in for a kiss before scooping him up and taking him up to bed.

Steve thought that was a silent no, but on Valentine’s Day, Billy surprised him with two tickets to the dance. “I knew how excited you were about this, so I got tickets and asked Joyce and Hopper to watch the girls,” Billy said as he handed Steve the tickets.

Steve’s eyes lit up, and he kissed Billy passionately on the lips.

So, after letting the girls eat one chocolate heart each and thanking Joyce and Hopper for watching them, they headed to the dance. Billy, surprisingly, had a wonderful time there, and it helped him relax a bit. Steve was happy to notice Billy was trying to be somewhat social again.

Near the end of February, Steve and Billy bought their caps and gowns for graduation.

Senior pictures came next. Billy fidgeted in his suit while he waited with Steve at the photography shop handling their pictures.

“Stop fidgeting, Billy, or you will wrinkle your outfit,” Steve said, straightening Billy’s tie for the hundredth time.

“Why do we have to get all dressed up for some stupid yearbook picture?” Billy groaned as Steve fixed his tie.

Steve looked up at him and said, “it’s a memory in the book of life, just enjoy it,” and placed a small kiss on Billy’s lips.

A familiar voice spoke behind them. “Mr. Harrington, Mr. Hargrove, you’re next.”

Looking towards where the voice came from, they saw Jonathan Byers.

“You're taking the senior pictures?” Billy asked as they got up from their seats and headed towards him.

“A friend of my mom's owns this studio, and he is letting me work here. It’s my dream job,” Jonathan said as they headed into the studio.

“I’m happy for you, Jon,” Steve said, making Jonathan blush a soft red.

When they got the proofs to order pictures a week later, they were taken aback by how amazing Jonathan was as a photographer.

And then all eyes turned toward May 5, to the Prom.

Billy was forthcoming with Steve about not wanting to do one of those cliché prom things people did for views on social media, which was fine with Steve.

Max and Mary wanted to dress up and go with them, so Jonathan and Nancy, who had offered to watch them since it was senior prom and they were juniors, threw the girls their own little prom dance while Billy and Steve went to theirs.

Billy hired a limo to take them to the dance and bought a corsage. On the way to the dance he said, “I don’t get all this hype about a stupid dance”.

Steve cuddled close to him. “It's not about the dance itself, it’s about saying goodbye to everyone one last time. Except for graduation, this is the last time all of us will be together in one place.”

Wrapping his arm around Steve, Billy just nodded. He didn’t know many people, but he would miss the basketball team and the friends he’d made.

For Steve, this was a place to relinquish the daily solitude he had at home. But now that he had Billy and the girls, he felt having to let go of Hawkins high wouldn’t be as difficult.

The night was more magical than either Steve or Billy could imagine. They danced, laughed, and even cried. Halfway through the dance, the announcement for prom King and Queen was made.

“This year's prom king and queen are Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington,” the principal announced.

Billy and Steve looked at each other in shock.

“Did you put our names in?” Steve asked.

Billy shook his head no.

When they heard the snickering behind them, they knew who it was.

“What the hell Tommy? Shouldn’t you have campaigned for you and Carol?” Billy asked a bit louder than he meant to.

“Nah, Carol and I thought it would be the crème on the cake for you guys if you won, so go enjoy it,” Tommy said, pulling Carol in for a kiss.

Steve laced his fingers through Billy’s and led him up to where the principal awaited them in the middle of the gym. He had seen the fire dancing in Billy’s eyes as Tommy spoke and knew he had to take his attention elsewhere.

Billy didn’t like attention on him and here he was having the whole of the senior class staring as the principal placed the crowns on their heads and motioned for them to lead off the next slow dance. Arm in arm, the two started to dance and the rest of the people disappeared as only Steve existed in Billy’s world at the moment, while Billy proved to be the missing piece Steve had been looking for in his life. Right here, in the school gym, that puzzle felt complete. Slowly, the other students joined the dance in, but neither Steve nor Billy noticed.

When it all came to an end, and they were in the limo heading home, they huddled together and silently let the memories of the evening imprint themselves in their minds and hearts.

The week before graduation, both Steve and Billy’s parents arrived in town, and both sets of parents were lodging with them for the summer at Billy’s request. He and Steve were going to wed at the beginning of June and their honeymoon would last through the end of September, since they planned to travel instead of going to one single destination. They would, of course, be back in time for the girls’ birthday.

Max and Mary kept their grandparents busy showing them all the new things they could do, like walk more and even run short distances. They had even taken to trying to dance like the characters on Bluey.

This allowed Steve and Billy to put all their concentration into their finals. Steve was also hard at work planning their perfect summer wedding. Billy just wanted to go to town hall, but Steve waved that idea away quickly and said they were going to have a wedding Hawkins would talk about for years. That was exactly what Billy didn’t care for, but he would do anything to make Steve happy.

Steve knew Billy wanted nothing big, but he had this perfect idea. He would wait and Billy would walk down the aisle and after they said their vows, they would have a grand party and then set out for their honeymoon.

The cake, food and guest lists were all put together, and they were going to just wear the suits they already had. Steve paid for Nancy’s and Robin’s dresses and suits for Tommy and Jonathan, since they would be a part of the wedding ceremony. Mary and Max also got to pick out their flower girl dresses, which ended up being a multicolor polka dot with pink fringes.

The day of graduation, everything went smoothly. The girls sat with their grandparents, Dustin and the gang, as well as Robin came out to cheer both Steve and Billy on. After the ceremony and seeing all their friends, Billy and Steve headed home with Max, Mary and their parents to have a family dinner.

“I am so proud of both of you,” Caroline said as they finished up dinner.

“We all are,” Maryanne chimed in.

Both Steve and Billy blushed softly, but Billy was fidgeting in his chair. He wanted to talk to Caroline alone, but didn’t know how to start the actual conversation.

“Billy, is something wrong?” Steve asked in a whisper.

“I need to talk to your mom alone for a minute about something, but I don’t know how to ask without making it seem odd,” Billy responded.

Steve smiled and said, “Mom, Billy needs to talk to you in the other room about something. Would you mind?”

“Of course not,” Caroline said, eyeing Billy, but quietly followed him as he headed into the living room.

Steve watched the two exit the room and wondered if Billy was alright.

Caroline sat next to Billy, who had already claimed the couch furthest from the kitchen. “What can I do for you?” Caroline asked softly.

“Steve has been hinting he would like more kids, and I was wondering if you knew anyone who would discreetly do in vitro fertilization for us,” Billy asked, never quite looking Caroline in the eyes.

While her face stayed neutral, her eyes were dancing with happiness. “I have a doctor friend who would be more than happy to help you,” she said as she wrote a name and number down on a piece of paper and handed it to Billy.

Thanking her, Billy promised they would call Caroline when they got back and both of them headed back into the kitchen.

On June 2, Billy and Steve officially became Billy and Steve Hargrove-Harrington.

While Steve waited at the front of the aisle of the makeshift wedding venue at the fairgrounds, he fidgeted with anything he could get his hands on. He was nervous and excited and felt like he could throw up all at once. He always dreamed of this day, and here it was. When the music started, he watched as Max and Mary, in their polka dotted dresses, walked down the aisle happily throwing their flowers everywhere. Jonathan and Tommy were Steve’s best men, and they each held a ring for the ceremony. He looked over at Robin and Nancy, who were on Billy’s side as his maids of honor.

Then the music started again and Billy, the man who had decimated Steve on and off the court, stood at the other end of the aisle, looking sharp and strong as always. As he walked forward, Steve’s eyes filled with tears. Happy, sad, longing tears. This was the man who chased away his loneliness and gave him two beautiful daughters. This was the man he would do anything for and if they had done their own vows, he would’ve said as much, but he told Billy that every night, so it didn’t need to be said here.

As Billy made his way to Steve, he couldn’t help but choke back tears. He looked at the only person who ever was there just for him. They’d chosen to do the pre-written vows instead of writing their own, but if they did, he now knew what he would say. He would tell Steve that he was the only person who not only embraced him, but Mary and Max as well. That no matter what, he would always protect him and be there for him, even when he himself seemed distant. When he finally reached Steve, he was more than happy to take Steve’s hands in his own and recite the vows, as was Steve.

The minute they both said “I do” the crowd erupted in applause and Mary and Max ran up and jumped into their arms.

The reception was held at the fairgrounds. The cake was handmade by Joyce, which made it more special than any bakery could’ve made. After a lot of dancing and eating, the couple got into their awaiting limo and headed to the airport to start their deluxe honeymoon.

They had spent the last week explaining to Max and Mary why they were staying with their grandparents for so long, but it still pained them to know they wouldn’t see the girls in person until almost their second birthday.

They started their trip with one week on a beautiful beach in Hawaii. Steve loved it whenever they got away to the beach because Billy would come alive. Between showing off in the water or just holding him close on a blanket, Billy was at home in the sand and sea. Steve, on the other hand, was constantly worried about a sunburn, which he ended up having the day before they headed out to their next destination, London.

“You look like a tasty lobster,” Billy joked on the flight and then licked Steve’s arm, adding insult to injury. It hurt as well, making Steve yelp, which in turn made Billy jump. “I’m so sorry, babe, I didn’t realize,” Billy said, kissing Steve’s forehead gently as it was one of the few places not sunburned.

“It’s alright, I rather enjoyed your tongue on my arm,” Steve said. They both laughed as they shared a deep kiss.

When they got to their hotel in London, Billy told Steve he had a surprise for him, and he would show it to him the next day. It made Steve both excited and nervous.

The next day, Billy took Steve to a beautiful hospital on the edge of the city. Steve was amazed, but unsure why they were there. His insides started churning when they got inside, and Billy actually asked for a Doctor Basset by name. While they waited, he started worrying that Billy was sick or worse. Within a few minutes, they were called back.

Dr. Basset smiled at the two of them and said, “it’s good to finally meet you in person, Billy. This must be Steve,” she said, holding her hand out and shaking both Billy and Steve’s hand.

After shaking hands with Doctor Bassett, Steve cleared his throat. “Billy, what’s going on? Are you sick?” Steve asked with worry dripping from every word.

Billy turned to Steve, took his hand and said, “Dr. Basset has agreed to help us have a baby”.

For a minute, Steve couldn’t breathe. He didn’t know if he heard him right, but as soon as it sank in, his eyes welled up and he launched himself into Billy’s arms and cried.

The next few days were a whirlwind of tests to make sure they were both healthy enough and then came the procedure.

“Now we wait,” Billy said as they got comfortable on their hotel bed.

Steve, who was cradled against Billy’s chest, looked up. “No matter what happens, this is the best gift ever,” he said, leaning up and kissing Billy.

They decided to just spend the rest of their honeymoon exploring England, but they didn’t tell anyone why. They visited Buckingham Palace, took the train out to Essex and Manchester and took in all the sites in between. Neither of them had ever traveled overseas, so the entire trip was magical and new.

Steve had thought about them just staying at his parents’ house but never mentioned it because the hotel Billy booked was amazing and it was close to the doctor’s office.

As the calendar flipped from June to July, Billy and Steve received a phone call from Doctor Basset. “Congratulations are in order for both of you. Your pregnancy test came back positive, Billy,” she said and added, “if you come in soon, we will do your first ultrasound.”

They thanked the doctor, hung up, and embraced.

The next day, they went in for the ultrasound. Steve was excited to see the baby for the first time, even if it wasn’t much at that point. He never had siblings, so this was his first rodeo with the whole pregnancy thing, but with Billy by his side, he knew they would both be alright.

Meanwhile, Billy started getting sweaty and nervous. Flashbacks from the first time kept playing through his head. It wasn’t until he was laying down and Steve slipped his hand in his that those thoughts dissolved and turned to actual excitement.

During the ultrasound, they got a pleasant surprise when the doctor told them they were having twins.

“Do you do everything in twos?” Steve joked as he looked at the black-and-white image in his hands back at the hotel.

“Everything,” Billy said as he kissed Steve once and then kissed once more, making them both laugh.

“I hope this doesn’t trigger any bad memories,” Steve said seriously as they laid in bed that night and held each other.

Billy looked Steve in the eyes. “It did at first, but now I know I have nothing to fear this time. I want this. I have a man that loves me and will be there, I have parents I trust and who want me, and we have two beautiful girls at home that won’t mind playmates though I don’t know if Mary will like sharing her Steve,” Billy said with a laugh.

The rest of the trip comprised more sightseeing and doctor appointments. Dr. Basset had also agreed to accompany them back to Hawkins for the duration of Billy’s pregnancy.

Both Steve and Billy decided not to mention anything until after Mary and Max’s second birthday, which was beyond insane, with two sets of grandparents wanting to spoil them. Between a mountain of presents and a giant Bluey themed cake, the girls were in heaven. Mary, though, kept staring at Billy’s stomach like she knew and would grab Steve’s hand and drag him wherever with her.

The next day, they officially told everyone. Both Steve and Billy’s parents were overcome with joy and decided that they were going to move full time to Hawkins to be close to the growing family.

Max and Mary, at first, were apprehensive, but as soon as they found out they were having sisters, they were super excited. More people to play dress up and dance with was their thinking.

As the calendar turned, they had their second family Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year they celebrated the new year quietly at home.

Mary and Max had come up with a bunch of names for the babies and they all came to an agreement on Melody and Amelia.

On March 29, Billy’s 19th birthday, they welcomed Melody and Amelia into the world.

Steve sat in the waiting room with Max and Mary, trying to remain calm for the girls’ sake. Once the nurse said the C-section went well and they could go in, Steve was in the room within seconds, one girl securely under each arm. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t in here,” Steve cried as he took Billy’s hand after setting the girls on the floor next to him.

Billy held it tight and said, “you were with our other girls. That’s most important.”

They shared a soft kiss and the nurses finally brought over both Melody and Amelia, who were both healthy as could be.

Max and Mary both wanted to hold the babies, so Steve helped each of them hold one for just a short time and assured them that when Melody and Amelia got bigger, they could hold them more.

Both Billy and the twins had to stay in the hospital for a couple days, but they had plenty of visitors between grandparents and friends.

Steve stayed with them the whole time, while Mary and Max stayed with their grandparents.

Billy’s favorite moments were watching Steve cradle Melody and Amelia while Steve looked at them like they were the most beautiful things in the world, the same way Steve always looked at Max and Mary.

When Melody and Amelia could come home, Steve softly got them comfortable in their bassinet, slid in next to a very sore but happy Billy and two excited big sisters and took in the fact he was living his dream.

As they all dozed off for what little sleep they might get, Billy softly said, “this was the second best birthday ever”.

Steve nodded, placed his hand on Billy’s excited for what the future would hold.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy deserved better #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #reblog please #fanfic #steve harrington #harringrovebbpreview2023 #harringrove bigbang

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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Chapter 3 is live!!!

Find it on AO3 Here

Or scroll down beyond the picture to read it

Chapter 3: New Life

A giggling sound made the two of them jump and look in the direction it came from.

Steve laughed when he saw the baby monitor sitting on the table next to Billy.

Steve looked over at Billy, grinned, and said, “I guess they approve”.

“I'm sorry,” was all Billy said as he dashed past Steve and out the front door. The sound of the door closing heavily behind him echoed in Steve's soul.

The night wind howled in Billy's ears as he searched for a place to hide, to breathe, to disappear. “You're useless, dumb, and loving a man is wrong and you will never amount to anything and your children will hate you,” his father's voice whispered inside his head.

Inside, Steve was left alone, feeling confused and hurt. Sitting down, he took a deep breath and watched the door, wondering why he always scared off the people that meant the most to him.

When Billy hadn't come back home even after a couple of hours, he was beginning to fear the worst, so he called Joyce.

“Hey Steve, how are you darling?” Joyce asked when she answered.

“Not well. Billy took off after we kissed and now I don't know what to do. Should I call Hopper to search for him? Should I get a sitter so I can go look for him, or should I just stay put?” he asked, his voice breaking.

Before she could answer, the front door opened and Billy was in the doorway, then in front of him and then his lips were on his. He melted into Billy's kiss, allowing the phone to drop from his hand and leaving Joyce asking if he was ok. After a few minutes, to Steve's disappointment, they parted, and that's when he remembered he was on the phone.

“I’m ok, Billy came back,” he quickly texted Joyce. When he got an “I'm glad” text, he put his phone down and looked at Billy.

“Where the hell did you go? And just because I accepted your kiss, I don't forgive you for just taking off,” he said as he wrapped his arms around himself and turned his back to Billy.

“I'm sorry. I heard my father's voice in my head, but as I walked in the cold air alone, I realized something. He was old and bitter, and I am allowed to be happy in whatever form that comes in. I hope you won't give up on me,” Billy replied.

Turning around slowly, Steve said, “Your honesty makes it hard to stay mad at you. I forgive you this time. But if it happens again I’m not promising anything,” and found his space within Billy’s arms.

The next couple of months were filled with end-of-school activities and homework, along with counseling sessions with their therapist.

“I can't wait for summer so we can have time to spend with the girls and each other,” Billy said as they were putting away dishes.

“Be careful what you wish for, Hargrove. Sometimes it isn't what you think,” Steve replied and pecked him on the cheek.

When summer break finally arrived, Billy was excited. But that didn't last.

“Two weeks. That's all it's been, and the girls are driving me nuts,” Billy said as he picked up Max and moved her away from the flowerpot she was trying to climb into.

Steve laughed and quipped, “You were so excited summer break was here, and we could have the girls home all the time.”

Flipping Steve off, Billy put Max in the playpen, then pried Mary from Steve's arms, whom she hadn't let go of all day except to eat, and placed her in as well.

Going back to where Steve was seated on the floor, he wrapped his arms around Steve and kissed him. “You're mine for a few minutes,” he said as he bit the edge of Steve's ear. Looking up to check on the girls, he could swear Mary was giving him a death glare for touching Steve. “I don't think Mary wants to share you with me,” he said, laughing.

“She knows she has me wrapped around her tiny finger,” Steve said as he turned his head and kissed Billy softly.

The girls played in their playpen while Steve and Billy watched TV. A commercial came on for a vacation package to San Diego. Steve saw a longing on Billy's face and said casually, “The two of us should take a nice vacation”.

The smile that crossed Billy's face said he agreed, but he said, “I don't think I'm ready to be away from Mary and Max for that long.”

Right then and there, Steve swore to himself he would get Billy to get away and relax somehow.

****

It was the last week of June when they flew out to San Diego for a five-day vacation at a beachside resort.

A scared deer was the only way Steve could explain the look on Billy's face. He had finally talked Billy into taking the vacation they had talked about.

“Don't worry, you pumped enough milk for them until next June and Joyce loves the girls, so everything will be just fine. Plus, we can FaceTime them every night,” he said as he physically sat Billy down on the bed.

“And what about Jonathan and Will? What if they go off and tell everyone about the girls and… and us?” Billy asked.

Sitting down next to Billy, Steve cupped Billy's face and said, “Stop worrying so much about other people. So what if everyone in town found out? It just might mean more babysitters. And the ‘us’ part, no one is going to care. Hawkins may be a small town, but it also has a lot of really loving people. Hell, even Tommy has a soft spot for kids, and I think he already thinks we are hiding something.”

Taking a deep breath and cracking half a smile, Billy nodded and laid on his back on the bed. “I guess this isn't so bad. I can teach you how to surf and you can finally get a tan on you.”

The next day, Billy showed Steve how to stand on a surfboard and was excited when Steve survived his first wave. They had a video chat with Joyce and the girls that night.

“Hope the girls are being good,” Steve asked as the girls waved at the camera, testing Joyce's ability to hold both of them.

“They're great and I'm enjoying having girls for a while,” Joyce said with a laugh.

They said their goodbyes and headed to bed.

As the third day became the third night, Billy was sitting on the bed while Steve was in the shower when there was a knock at the door.

Billy slowly got up and went to the door and looked out the peephole. He was taken aback by the woman with blonde hair with purple streaks and piercing blue eyes, much like his own, staring back at him from the hallway.

He undid the lock, and the woman wrapped her arms around Billy. “Long time no see little brother”.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked. He heard the shower turn off. “Give me a second,” he said before she could answer and went to the bathroom, letting Steve know they had company and he would need more than the towel. When he turned around, his sister was sitting in a chair by the desk and he asked again as he sat on the bed, “How did you know I was here?”

“My friend works here, and she told me she saw you. She even gave me your room number,” his sister replied as Steve came into the room.

“What's going on, Billy?” Steve asked, sitting next to him.

“This is Crystal, my older sister,” Billy said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the anger and confusion he was feeling.

“Mom and dad have been worried sick about you ever since your disappearing act almost two years ago,” Crystal said.

“I didn't know Satan knew how to worry about others,” Billy replied, not holding back the venom in his tone.

“Grow up already, Billy. Yeah, dad was an ass at times, but he loves us and mom. His old way of thinking made life hard, but your vanishing has really been tough on him since he blames himself. Couldn’t you at least stop by and let them know you are alive,” Crystal said, her eyes locked on Billy.

“Maybe you should, Billy. I will be right there with you,” Steve said softly, placing a hand on Billy's shoulder. Billy just nodded. Both Steve and Crystal took that as a win.

Giving both Steve and Billy a hug, Crystal took her leave.

“She seems nice,” Steve said as they got comfortable in bed.

“She is a good person and a great sister,” Billy said, turning to face Steve. “Are you sure you want to be involved in my family drama?” Billy asked as he moved a piece of hair from Steve's eyes.

“Of course I do. Plus, I'm interested in meeting Satan himself,” Steve said, causing them both to laugh.

The next morning, they headed over to Billy's old house. It looked exactly the same as when Billy left, which made him even more nervous. It subsided a bit when Steve placed his hand on his. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and Steve followed suit. Hand in hand, they went to the front door and Billy knocked.

They heard Billy's dad grumbling as he approached the front door. When he opened it, his face went from frustrated to disbelief in seconds. “Marianne! Billy's home!” the man yelled and motioned for them both to enter.

A woman wearing a red night robe came running into the room and when she saw Billy she ran straight for him, wrapping her arms around him. “I've missed you so much, my son,” she said as the tears streamed down her face.

“I've missed you too, mom,” Billy said softly.

Once she let Billy go, she motioned for him and Steve to have a seat. When she got back with coffee for everyone, Billy introduced Steve and told them about what he had been going through the last year and a half.

When he was done, neither one of his parents said a word. Suddenly, his mom burst into tears and wrapped her arms around him again. “I'm just glad you're alive and safe,” she said over and over. Even his dad had tears threatening to fall as he tried to keep his composure. It was a side of his dad Billy had never seen.

They spent the afternoon talking about Mary and Max and Steve. As the sun started to set, Billy hugged his mom and shook hands with his dad. It was a start.

“If I could get your email, I would like to send you tickets to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. If it goes well, I will also bring you out for Christmas, but I warn you if you hurt Billy or the girls in any way, I will make sure you never see them again,” Steve said, surprising Billy's parents and making Billy grin.

“I like this one,” his dad said as he wrote his email for Steve.

When they got back in the car Steve said with a laugh, “Satan isn't that bad”.

“Yeah, I guess we can graduate to Neil,” Billy said with a smile and started up the car.

As they were heading back to the hotel, Steve asked, “Where did that come from? I'm so proud of you but the fact you were so open was a shock.”

“The reason is you,” was all Billy said.

Steve knew not to push Billy to talk, so he turned on the radio. California Girls by Katy Perry was playing. “I have my own California girl,” Steve teased, pleased, as he watched the red stain on Billy's cheeks.

That night, they cuddled together.

“You know, I'm glad you dragged me out here,” Billy said as he kissed Steve's neck.

“Me too. We both needed this break,” Steve replied as he rolled onto Billy, smiling, and reached over and flipped the light off.

The next morning, they sadly had to head to the airport. They were excited to see the girls and give them the gifts they got for them, but they would miss the alone time.

When they landed in Indianapolis, they claimed their baggage and headed out to the front of the terminal, where they found Joyce and the girls waiting for them. As they walked through the arrivals door, the most amazing thing happened. Max said, “mama” and reached for Billy while Mary said, “dada” and reached for Billy, too. Both Steve and Billy gasped, dropped their luggage, ran over and picked up the girls, hugging and kissing them and then switching babies.

“Wow, you're like an old married couple,” Joyce said with a laugh as she wiped away her own tears, making them both blush.

The girls repeated mama and dada for the next hour on the trip back to Hawkins.

A couple of days later, a blanket was spread out on the grass in the backyard. On it was a picnic basket, Steve and Billy cuddling together, and two baby girls waiting for the Independence day celebrations to begin.

When the sky faded to black, bright stripes of light rose from the Hawkins fair.

As the fireworks exploded one by one, the two girls clapped and cooed while the young me shared a deep kiss.

“You know this means that school isn't that far off,” Billy said as they cleaned up the picnic.

“I know, but hey we still have over a month, so let's make the most of it.”

And they did.

They spent a lot of time in the pool, taking road trips to look at the farms surrounding Hawkins and, of course, visiting Joyce.

***

“Dammit, going back to school came way too fast,” Billy complained as he put together his school stuff for the next day.

Steve didn’t want to go back either. All the girls' firsts they had witnessed were a blessing, and he knew that both of them were not ready to miss anything.

Billy had spent the last week mentioning everything new the girls had done down to Max and Mary sticking their fingers in each other's noses. As the day to start classes got closer, Billy’s attitude got worse, and he complained about everything, cursing out anything that dared to get in his way.

“The nice thing is that we only have classes until noon except for Fridays when we have basketball practice,” Steve said, trying to calm the Goliath down.

Billy looked over at him, a look of fear mixed with pride on his face. He asked, “So are we still taking separate cars and shit”?

“No,” Steve answered and left the room, leaving a confused and worried Billy behind. He came back in with a small piece of paper and put it on the table where Billy could read it: ‘Hawkins High parking pass for Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove, good for the 23/24 school year.’

“One car, one team. I also thought we could bring our friends to meet Mary and Max tomorrow morning since tomorrow is orientation and school starts on Monday,” Steve said. He tried not to laugh as Billy groaned and threw his backpack onto the floor, collapsing onto the bed. Laying on top of Billy, Steve kissed Billy’s nose. “It will all be ok, you will see,” he said and kissed him.

The next day didn’t feel alright. Mary and Max were crying because of having their first teeth coming in and nothing was soothing them. Billy and Steve finally decided that Steve would go to orientation and hopefully could pick up Billy's class list.

When Steve left, Mary screamed and made Max scream louder, too. Billy looked at the clock and hoped that the orientation wouldn’t take too long.

After an hour, some cold teething rings, and a good feeding, Mary and Max finally fell asleep in their playpen. Billy went to the couch and ended up falling asleep.

Multiple voices in the room awakened him. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened to the conversation.

“Oh my, he’s so adorable when he's sleeping,” a female voice said.

Billy recognized it as Nancy Wheeler.

“I just want to grab his ass.”

That was definitely Carol Perkins.

“He isn’t that good looking,” chided Tommy Hagan.

“Can we hold them?” asked Robin Buckley.

Jonathan Byers said, “I wouldn't wake them. They are as cranky as I suspect their father is when you wake them.”

“And right now, I’m majorly cranky,” Billy said as he sat up, making everyone in the room jump. “Why the fuck are you all here?” he asked quietly, trying not to wake the terror twins.

“I asked them to come so you could tell them about things in a more relaxed setting,” Steve answered, kissing him on the cheek and sitting next to him.

Billy relaxed and motioned for the others to take a seat. He gave them a basic rundown, leaving out most of what happened because he emotionally couldn’t go through it again right then. When he finished, he showed them the scar, at the request of Tommy.

“Damn Hargrove, guess you’re the mom, and Stevie here is head of the household,” Tommy said with a chuckle.

“I do love my sugar daddy,” Billy said as he ran a hand up Steve’s thigh, making everyone laugh because Steve was visibly turned on. And right on cue, Mary started crying loudly, and Billy said, “I’ve got competition, though.”

Steve got up and picked Mary up and she immediately stopped crying and started saying “dada”, reaching for his face.

“I would be careful Hargrove, you have a competitor, and she really does have a cuteness advantage,” Tommy said as he fell over in a laughing fit.

Jonathan went over to the playpen when Max started making a noise, as she realized Mary wasn’t there. Picking her up, Jonathan held her in his arms and started humming a soft melody, which made Max calm down.

Within ten minutes, everyone was surrounding the girls and showering them with attention. As long as girls could see Steve or Billy, they loved it.

Robin kept looking over at Billy.

“Can I help you, Robin?” he asked.

Blushing, Robin asked, “Can we watch when you feed them? I know it's weird but none of us have seen a guy feed babies and it would be educational.”

The look on Billy’s face was meme-worthy, but he actually agreed to it more out of necessity than anything else, since both girls started their lunchtime cry. Taking off his shirt, he collected Max from Jonathan and was glad when Steve brought Mary to him and set them up for their lunch.

The silence in the room was deafening, mixed with the fact that he felt like a sideshow. It was sending his anxiety through the roof. He kept his cool for the sake of the girls.

When they were done, he laid them in the playpen and rubbed their tummies until they were asleep. Replacing his shirt, he asked, “Who wants a sandwich?” as he went towards the kitchen.

When lunch was done and everyone had left, Steve watched as Billy slumped onto the couch, looking broken. “What's the matter, babe?” he asked, sitting down on Billy’s lap.

“I'm just worn out. Between the girls teething and knowing not only the loudmouth of Hawkins knows everything, but so do my parents, my head is just spinning,” Billy said, pulling Steve in close to him.

Steve wrapped his arms around Billy’s neck and said softly, “Together we will get through this” and kissed him.

“I can't believe the girls will be one in a week,” Billy said once he calmed down. He started to flip through his phone.

Steve looked over his shoulder and noticed Billy looking at party gifts and ideas. “Can I plan it?” Steve asked excitedly.

Billy looked at him and nodded because he was too exhausted to fight.

***

Balloons filled the living room like it was a circus. A banner hung above the fireplace that read “Happy First Birthday Mary and Max”. ‘The Party’ was there as well, along with Joyce and Hopper, and Billy’s and Steve’s friends from school.

The birthday girls were in their playpen, loving the balloons and bubbles from the bubble maker.

Steve's eyes watered when it came time to cut the cake.

“Wow Steve, you're really invested in those girls aren’t you,” Tommy said as he took his piece.

“I love them like my own,” Steve replied as he continued to hand out cake.

Billy came over and wrapped his arms around Steve and whispered, “The girls are hungry and since we plan to wean them soon, it might be nice to have a small family feeding.”

This made Steve full-out cry. Joyce thankfully took the knife from him and motioned for both of them to scamper off.

They each went and got one girl and headed up to the nursery.

Billy handed Steve Max and got comfortable in the rocking chair as he removed his shirt. Steve then handed him one kid at a time and then sat in the chair next to Billy’s, resting a hand on his arm.

When they were done, Billy put the girls on the play mat on the floor.

Nothing in the world could make this moment for either of them any better until both Max and Mary both stood up and took a couple steps before falling on their bottoms, destroying both of them emotionally in a good way.

***

Between on the move one-year-olds and senior-level school work, both Steve and Billy were exhausted.

Their saving grace was that all their friends wanted to help with the girls. They could go out two nights a week for a dinner date, which most of the time meant grabbing some fast food and sitting in the Camaro, just enjoying each other's company.

September slowly faded into October. As Halloween approached, Billy would’ve liked to take part in the seniors’ Halloween party, but it was on Halloween night and the girls’ first real Halloween, and that was much more important.

When the day came, Billy found out that Steve had gone out of his way to get their costumes and had made sure it was a group thing. Billy ended up in a tan dog outfit while Steve had on a blue one and the girls were each in a onesie, one blue and one tan, with matching dog ear headbands.

“I feel ridiculous in this,” Billy said as Steve got the stroller ready.

“Well, I wasn’t going to let you dress like I imagined you would’ve had,” Steve said as he placed the girls in their stroller.

“What does that mean?” Billy asked, caught off guard.

“You would probably go shirtless with tight leather pants with a bad 80s wig and go as some old rocker,” Steve said.

Honestly, Billy couldn't argue, so he gave in.

The girls were asleep by the time they got back from trick-or-treating, so they let them sleep in their costumes.

When Steve and Billy finally got out of theirs, they put the candy bags in the cupboard and then went and laid down.

“That was an amazing night. Now we have the family Thanksgiving and Christmas to deal with,” Billy said as he cuddled against Steve.

“We will get through this. I mean, how bad could it be having both of our parents in one place?” Steve said.

Both of them couldn’t help but laugh.

“Let's just hope it doesn't become a bloodbath,” Billy said as they drifted off to sleep.

***

November in Indiana meant snow. The girls got super excited from the first snowfall of the year.

Billy was just astonished at how much snow could really be in one place.

They spent weekends making and destroying snowmen and Steve showed the girls how to make snow angels.

Thanksgiving came faster than either of them imagined or really wanted. Billy surprised Steve by cooking dinner while Steve set the table up for their impending guests. The girls had fun practicing walking within the safety gates they had set up.

Right at 3:00 pm, the front door opened, and Billy met Mr. and Mrs. Harrington for the first time. Steve's mom had on a very elegant dress while his dad had on a sharp black suit.

“Billy, this is my mom Caroline and my father David,” Steve said and went to greet them.

Caroline gave her son a hug while David shook his hand.

Billy shyly came out of the kitchen and followed behind.

“So, you're the young man my son called in the army for. I’m glad he has someone here. We are so busy with work we don’t get to spend enough time with him,” Caroline said, giving Billy a hug. After an awkward handshake with Steve’s dad, the Harringtons went over to dote on Max and Mary.

That’s when there was a knock at the door, making Billy freeze in his tracks. Knowing he should be the one to open the door, he headed over to let his parents in.

When he opened the door, he was taken aback by how beautiful his mom’s dress was and how handsome his dad was when he was clean shaven and in a suit.

“Mom, you look absolutely beautiful,” he said as he motioned for them to come in. He hugged his mom and shook his dad's hand. “Everyone, this is my mother Maryanne and my father Neil,” he said and moved aside so they could meet Steve’s parents and the girls. He went over to where Steve was and took his hand.

Steve squeezed his hand in response. “We will get through this together,” he whispered.

Dinner went remarkably well. The girls loved the mashed potatoes and mashed yams, and the rest of them enjoyed the amazingly moist and perfectly cooked turkey.

Beaming with pride, Steve said, “Billy cooked everything.”

“Wow, Billy, you’re an amazing cook,” Caroline said.

“Thank you, Mrs. Harrington. I have my mom to thank for that. I was always watching her in the kitchen,” Billy said, smiling at his mom.

“Mrs. Hargrove, you have an amazing son. And please, everyone, can call me Caroline,” Caroline said.

“Please call me Maryanne,” Billy's mom added, ignoring the compliment Caroline gave to Billy.

After dinner, Steve showed the Hargroves to the guest bedroom. His parents called it a night and headed upstairs as well.

Billy cleaned the girls up, gave them each their bottles, and held them until they fell asleep.

When Steve reappeared, he kissed the girls goodnight and Billy laid them in the playpen until they were ready to go upstairs, still not completely trusting the other adults he barely knew not to run off with the girls. He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to shake it off.

The two of them cleaned the kitchen and dining room before taking the girls up to the nursery. Only then were they able to head into their room to lie down.

Cuddling up close Steve said softly, “It could’ve been worse”.

Billy nodded and said, “You're right, but they’re here for two more days. Think it will last?”

Steve closed his eyes and replied, “Hopefully. This is nice.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Billy said, kissing Steve’s cheek as the two fell asleep.

The next two days went by quickly, with no major issues. Billy showed his parents around Hawkins, and Steve took care of the girls while catching up with his parents.

When Sunday rolled around, Steve’s dad surprised everyone by inviting Neil and Maryanne to fly home with them on Harringtons’ private jet. David and Caroline had business to take care of in California before they headed back to their house in London, their home most of the time when they worked in Europe.

As they were leaving, Billy was in for another shock: his dad came over and hugged him, telling him he was proud.

His mom then came over and hugged him and told him the same thing and that he is a wonderful cook. Then she went over to Steve and said, “Thank you for taking great care of our son when we were too blind to do so. I hope we will see you at Christmas.”

“Of course. We can’t wait to see you then,” Steve replied.

Steve's dad even hugged Steve, apologizing for being away so long and saying he couldn't wait for Christmas and that he had a huge gift for him.

Steve hugged him back and then hugged his mom.

“I'm sorry, son, that we haven’t been here. We will try harder,” Caroline said as she held Steve tighter.

“I forgive you, mom. Let's move forward from here,” Steve replied, hugging her more.

As they made final moves towards the door, the girls walked over and said “Bye nana, bye papa” making eyes tear up. The four grandparents hugged Mary and Max goodbye, promising to see them at Christmas.

After the last goodbyes, the two sets of parents got into David's rented car and headed off.

“Well, I’m glad they get along,” Billy said as he pulled Steve to the couch and onto his lap, both facing the girls so they could watch them.

Steve laughed and watched as Max and Mary walked over and reached to be picked up. He picked them up and sat them on his lap.

They stayed that way until the girls fell asleep and then gently took them upstairs, placed them in their crib and then laid down themselves.

“Think things will go well this Christmas?” Billy asked as he wrapped himself around Steve.

“I think so, I’ve heard grandkids can make people change. I’m glad how my parents responded to them,” Steve said with a yawn.

Billy kissed the back of Steve’s head and they fell asleep.

***

One day, while Steve was out, Billy turned the house into a Christmas wonderland. The girls, with Billy's help, made paper ring garlands for the tree.

When Steve walked in, he was in awe. As he placed a small box on the table, he heard Mary say, “Paper dada paper dada,” as she pointed at the tree. Steve looked over and with tears said, “That's a beautiful garland, Mary,” picking her up and hugging her. Max walked over and said “up” and so Steve had both girls in his arms when he went over to Billy. “This is beautiful. It’s the first time in a long time the house looks like Christmas,” Steve said as he laid his head on Billy’s shoulder.

Setting the girls down, he whispered something to them, and they walked towards the table and picked up the box Steve had put down when he came in. They brought it to Steve, who went over to Billy and got down on one knee, making Billy squirm.

Billy knew what was next.

“You and the girls came into my life in the most chaotic way possible, but it’s what I needed. Billy Hargrove, will you give me the pleasure of being my partner in life?” Steve asked, opening the box.

Inside it was a beautiful engagement ring.

Billy just stared and then he heard two little voices saying, “Yes, yes, yes.” Looking directly into Steve's eyes, he nodded.

They embraced, and Steve put the ring on his finger.

Suddenly there were screams of congratulation causing Billy to jump and look around. He noticed Steve must’ve started a live chat with their friends and parents on the TV.

The girls had forgotten all about them and went to the TV and were kissing the nana and papa boxes, making Billy and Steve laugh.

“I have one more surprise, but that waits until Christmas,” Steve said with a grin.

Raising an eyebrow, Billy smiled and kissed him, which got an aww from the TV. “That's creepy,” he said. He had a smile on the outside but inside he was freaking out because he didn’t have any money to get Steve a gift that measured what he got him. At that moment, his cell phone rang, and he answered.

“Hello Billy, it's Caroline. I have never seen my son so excited. I have created a bank account for you and have placed $10k in it to give you some financial freedom. Plus, you're going to be my son-in-law and I will be here whenever you need anything. Your parents were going to surprise you with the same thing, but I thought I would step up early,” she said.

“I don’t know what to say. How did you know I was worried?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“I could see it in your face over the chat. I’m sure your parents could as well. Just say thank you and you accept and all will be good,” she replied.

“Thank you, and I accept it. I can’t wait to see everyone at Christmas,” he said. After goodbyes, he went to the kitchen and broke down, sliding down to his knees on the floor.

Suddenly he felt arms around him. Looking up, he saw Steve and tried to collect himself. “I'm ok,” he said, but knew immediately Steve didn't buy it for one minute.

“What's wrong, babe? Don’t worry, the live stream is off and the girls are safe in their playpen,” Steve said as he stood up, hands on hips, staring down at Billy.

“I'm not used to all this. My parents are supportive, people are helping me financially without repayment and now… You and the girls are literally the only things that make sense at this point,” he said.

Steve took a deep breath and said, “I’m just as lost, but we will get through this, I promise, but you have to get off the kitchen floor.”

Standing up, Billy looked at Steve and said, “I’m beyond embarrassed. You planned this wonderful proposal and I break down on the kitchen floor.”

Steve kissed his cheek and said, “We all have breakdowns,” as they went to check on the girls.

The next few weeks before Christmas break, Billy had many people offering to help with the wedding. Robin wanted to do decorations while Nancy was willing to help with catering ideas.

When Christmas arrived, their house was full of presents and grandparents, who upon arriving, sprung it on them they would stay over the New year.

Steve recorded the girls opening their gifts first so they could go down to their nap since they had been up since daybreak to make sure Santa had come.

As soon as they were down and out, the adults opened their gifts. It would be the last gift though that pulled heartstrings.

Steve handed Billy an envelope.

Billy eyed it, and then carefully opened it up. When he pulled out the documents, he couldn’t hold back his emotions.

Inside were two birth certificates, one for Mary and one for Max, and on the line for parents was Steve Hargrove-Harrington for Father and Billy Hargrove-Harrington for Father.

“They are official documents. Now all we need is that marriage license and this family is complete in the eyes of the law,” Steve said, holding back his own tears.

“I love you, Steve Harrington,” Billy said for the first time out loud in front of other people, making Steve lose it emotionally and they kissed right under some mistletoe.

“We aren’t done,” David said, handing his son his own envelope.

Steve cautiously opened it. His eyes widened as he saw the deed to the house and the card to his trust fund. It wasn’t until he saw the paperwork for a trust fund both sets of grandparents had started for each of the girls that brought him to tears. “Are you sure about this, dad?” he asked.

“This house was your grandfather’s and when I married your mother, it became mine. Now I am passing it on to you,” David said, wiping tears from his own eyes.

The two men hugged.

When everyone thought their heartstrings were safe, Maryanne stood up and went over to Billy. “Billy, I want you to have this locket. It was my grandmother’s and now it is yours. I know it’s not a house or trust fund, but it's my most valuable possession, except for you.”

Billy put the locket around his neck and held onto his mom, saying, “This is amazing, Mom. I will treasure it forever.”

By noon, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Between playing in the snow and hanging out with friends and family, New Year's Eve came quickly.

Billy and Steve planned on spending their first New Year's Eve together as a full family, but their parents had other plans.

“We heard about the party the seniors are having and you boys are going to go. We have the grandkids,” Neil said, handing Steve and Billy jackets.

“But it’s the girl's first New Year celebration,” Steve argued. Neil quickly shut him down. “They're one. They will be asleep by the time the ball drops and if not, they can hang out with us and have some apple juice. Now, go.”

Steve and Billy looked at each other and, not wanting to cause a scene, headed to the school gym in the Camaro.

They found their little group of friends at the party and found themselves enjoying being out and socializing again.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the music slowed down. When the bell rang, indicating it was midnight, Steve and Billy shared a long kiss, both of them excited and scared of what the future holds.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy deserved better #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #fanfic #reblog please #steve harrington #ao3 fanfic #harringrovebbpreview2023 #harringrove bigbang

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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Couldn’t have done this without you!! Thank you and I hope to work together again sometime and remain friends

I had the wonderful chance to work with @strangerthingfanfic during the big bang, and got to create this fun companion playlist to go along with their amazing, heartfelt fic; These are the days (of our lives. The link to the playlist is here, and you can see the rest of the track-list under the break.

#harringrove #harringrove bigbang #stranger things #billy hargrove #billy deserved better

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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Chapter 2 of These are the days(of our lives) has gone live!!

Check it out on Ao3 here

Or scroll past the picture to read

Chapter 2: Moving Foward

Monday came faster than either Billy or Steve were ready for.

On his way to the daycare centre, Billy looked at the empty seat next to him. He and Steve had decided going to school in separate cars would keep questions from arising. Switching to his rear-view mirror, he watched his girls playing with their toys. Max loved the baby seat that Steve bought her. On top of everything else, he would have to find a job to pay back all the money Steve and others had spent on him.

When he reached the daycare, he pushed both front seats up and lifted both carriers out of one side.

“Wow, you are strong and so young to have twins. You and their mother must be so proud,” said a woman with her baby carrier in her arms.

“They keep me busy and it’s a good workout. They’re my pride and joys,” he said and smiled as he headed inside after her.

When he reached the check-in desk, the woman there looked at him, confused. “They doubled over the weekend,” she said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, Max wasn’t well enough to come earlier, but now she’s healthier and ready to join her sister. I would like to pay for the next month,” Billy said as he handed her the credit card Steve had loaned him. Another payment he would have to pay back.

Kissing both girls on the forehead, he headed out and turned his attention to school.

***

Steve was half there during his morning pickup. Dustin decided to ride shotgun. Steve heard something about their latest Dungeons and Dragons campaign and Lucas having a crush on someone, and he would answer with a “yeah” or a “that’s cool” every once in a while.

When they got to the middle school, Steve let the kids know he would pick them up. Their parents needed him to watch them for the afternoon. Once they were all out, he started up the SUV and headed towards the high school, wondering if Billy had made it yet.

He was glad that the blue Camaro was already there when he got there.

Billy was sitting on the hood, staring off into the distance, looking at something only he could see.

Tapping Billy on the shoulder, Steve motioned toward the school since the bell went off. Billy just nodded and without a word headed towards the building, leaving Steve feeling iced out. Shrugging it off, Steve headed inside.

When the last bell rang hours later, Billy again ignored Steve’s existence, as he had all day. Before Steve could say a word, the only thing left was the skid marks where Billy’s car used to be.

He was glad when Robin finally made it out and he had someone to talk to. “Hey Robs, hope your day went better than mine,” he said as he started up the SUV to pick up the kids.

“We can talk about school later. You promised to let me know what happened over the weekend,” Robin said, leaning back in her seat.

“As soon as we get back to my place, everything will be clearer,” he said and hoped Billy would be there.

***

Gravel flew under the wheels of the muscle car.

Billy stopped at the quarry and stared into the gulch below. He hit the steering wheel with both hands as his scream echoed through the empty Camaro.

He hadn’t been able to focus all day, but the worst part was he couldn’t even look in Steve’s direction. Max was finally healthy and now he was falling into an abyss.

Words uttered to him in his youth played through his head. ‘Useless, pathetic, weak’ were the ones that echoed the loudest at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, he started the car back up and went to pick up the only things that made sense in his life.

When he got to the daycare, he got the girls and headed towards the rec centre. He wouldn’t inconvenience Steve anymore.

But as he approached the centre, he flipped it off and continued to Steve’s house. He had to think about what was best for the two in the backseat and not himself or Steve.

As he pulled up and saw everyone getting out of Steve’s SUV, he started having doubts again. The giggling in the back kept him focused.

Before he could get out, Steve was on the passenger side and taking Mary out.

“There’s my cutie,” Steve said, causing Billy to bump his head on the top of the car as he got Max out.

The way Steve said ‘my cutie’ caught Billy off guard and made him happy and scared about all he could lose at the same time. He noticed Robin watching intently, and he started to panic, but Steve's hand on his arm made him calm down. Why was Steve able to do that for him?

“Come on, it’s safe now,” Steve said, and motioned for him to follow.

When they got inside, Steve placed Mary’s carrier on the floor and unbuckled it so she could crawl around. Steve was happy when Billy followed suit with Max. He could tell that Billy was anxious, but he had to prove somehow he was safe.

“Alright everyone, why don’t you sit down on the floor and Billy will explain everything,” he said. When the others were all sitting, he went over to Billy and whispered, “Just tell them what you're comfortable talking about.”

Billy nodded and went and sat next to Mary and Max, who were staring at the others in the room.

Sitting off to the side, Steve watched the facial expressions of the others. Robin, Will, Dustin, and Jane seemed to take it piece by piece while Lucas seemed sad and Mike did not believe a word being said.

Then there was Billy. He looked like he was going to be sick, but his body language was calm, as though telling the story again was releasing all the tension he had inside.

When Billy was done, there was silence.

“What in the holy hell?” exclaimed Lucas, staring at Max, who had crawled onto Billy's lap and was playing with his long hair.

Mary crawled over to Lucas and reached her hands up to be held. Lucas picked her up and sat her on his lap, letting her play with his cellphone charm.

“You're good with kids, Lucas,” Billy said, trying to smooth out the situation.

“Yeah, I've got an annoying little sister and my parents make me babysit enough,” Lucas said as he smiled at Mary, seeming to forget or just trying to ignore that the girl he liked was now six months old.

Steve was about to suggest they put on a movie when Mike went off.

“So what you're telling us is that within the last few days, you took down scientific crazies out of a B-horror movie, and not only is none of this with Max scientifically possible but they also figured out how to make a dude have a kid. This is some kind of dumb joke,” Mike said as he slumped down onto the couch.

Taking a deep breath, Steve went and reached for Max, who reached back to be picked up. Billy whispered, “Thank you,” and rubbed the spot where Max had been pulling his hair.

Steve laughed and took Max over to Mike and sat her on his lap. “Does this look like a dumb joke? Just look at her eyes,” Steve said softly as he sat down next to Mike.

Mike picked up the baby and looked into her eyes. Her blue eyes shone brightly. They were Max’s eyes. Sitting her down on his lap, he sighed and said, “Fine, I fold. But none of this makes an ounce of sense.”

Billy laughed and said, “Believe me kid, I am just as lost as you. I'm still not used to what happened to me.”

With that, the twins went off.

“It’s dinnertime,” Billy said as he stood up, collected his girls, and headed upstairs.

Robin looked at Steve and asked, “Is he going to nurse them?”

Steve nodded.

“Can we watch?” Robin asked in a curious tone.

Steve shook his head. “That’s a pretty private thing. You would have to ask Billy about that,” he said as he looked up the staircase. “Anyway, it’s time to get all of you home. I will let Billy know while you all get your stuff together,” he said and headed upstairs.

When Steve got to the nursery, he stopped in his tracks. The girls were asleep in their crib, but Billy was nowhere to be seen. The window was wide open. Fearing the worst, he went to the window and could breathe normally.

Billy was sitting on a tree branch that was close to the window outside of the nursery.

“Hey Billy, are you ok?” he asked casually, masking the worry and fear plaguing his own mind.

Billy nodded.

That's when Steve noticed the tears staining Billy’s cheek. “I need to take the kids and Robin home. Will you be alright?” Steve asked, hoping Billy would come back in.

Again, Billy just nodded.

***

It was like life was put on repeat for the next couple of weeks. Billy would be gone with the girls before Steve woke up, Steve would see him at school and then when they were both home, it felt like he was still alone.

“He’s not the same guy that fought for Max. He has become quiet and seems to have been switched to autopilot. Maybe you can help him?” Steve asked Joyce when he dropped off Will at the Byers’, not holding back his tears.

Joyce wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. “I think he might be depressed and possibly suffering from postpartum. I was the same way after each of the boys was born. I can come and talk to him if you want,” Joyce said softly as she rubbed his back.

“Thank you so much, Joyce. Can you come now?” he asked.

Joyce nodded, and Steve led her to the SUV.

Billy looked at the calendar on the desk in the guest room

Two weeks.

The last two weeks brought back memories of the Groundhog Day horror he had been living in before Steve. Day in and day out, he was slowly becoming that shell of a person who just did what he had to do instead of the person who was doing what he wanted to do.

Steve.

Every time he heard that name, everything inside him shifted. His head hurt, his stomach did backflips and his heart felt like it was forcing itself to continue to beat. So, he stayed away from Steve to keep away the pain he was feeling, but that made him feel alone again. That hurt just as much.

Billy was sitting on the windowsill of the nursery when the sound of Steve’s SUV heading up the driveway made him look up. He watched as it pulled next to the Camaro. Then there was Steve, and the world seemed to balance, and then there was Joyce. Why was she here? He waited until he heard the door open and close, and then slowly headed downstairs.

When he got down, he saw Joyce sitting on the couch and Steve heading into the kitchen and organising random things on the counter.

“Hi Joyce,” he said softly as he took a seat across from her, but kept his gaze locked on Steve.

“Can we talk for a minute, Billy?” Joyce asked.

Nodding slowly, Billy turned his gaze from the kitchen at Joyce. He still wondered why Steve was staying in there instead of coming to sit with them. Was Steve mad at him? Was Steve kicking him out? He fucked up. He knew it. The voices in his head had told him the whole time he would fuck up, and he had. Joyce must be there to be a mediator because Steve feared him. Did Steve fear him? He put his head in his hands, his body trembling like he was freezing when, in reality, his body felt like it was on fire.

Steve watched as Billy silently battled whatever demons were inside him. He wanted to run over and let Billy know he was safe and nothing could hurt him. But Joyce had made it clear on the drive over that Billy had to admit to his pain or he would never heal. So, Steve sat down at the kitchen table and watched as Billy hid his head in his hands, mumbling to himself, crying. His heart felt like it wanted to burst out of his chest and slap him. He should do what he felt was right, but he knew nothing about depression, so he had to trust the person who did, no matter how much it hurt.

The minute he heard Joyce ask him to sit with Billy and explain what was going on he jumped up and ran over.

Joyce just observed for almost an hour as Steve explained to Billy that he had asked Joyce to come and talk to him because he was worried that Billy was depressed. Billy's eyes darted between Joyce and Steve like a nervous rabbit’s and he pulled away when Steve tried to put his hand on his. Steve also acted weird calling Billy anything beyond his ‘friend’ and then looked sad at hearing his own words.

After the hour, she signalled that she had enough from their interactions to back up her own ideas about the situation, and clapped her hands. “Ok gentlemen, I am not a licensed therapist but I have made two motherly observations,” she said. “One: Billy, you are depressed and possibly suffering from postpartum. Two: you guys have to put your inner feelings into words because it's preventing both of you from living life fully.”

***

A couple of weeks later, Billy looked at the calendar and groaned when he realised what day it was. March 29, his seventeenth birthday. Thankfully, no one knew that, so he was safe.

He got the girls ready and let Steve know they were heading out - just like he’d learned in therapy.

Joyce had a friend that was a licensed therapist, so she had set Steve and Billy up with both individual and couple counselling.

The last two weeks had been hard, and he was still learning, but each day he felt more positive that things were heading in the right direction, and the negative voices had gone mostly silent. His relationship with Steve was a lot better as well. He couldn't believe how much effort Steve was also putting into making things work. They had opened up a line of communication that had helped them both express their feelings and set up some basic rules.

After dropping the girls off, he headed to school.

As predicted, no one at school knew about his birthday, so he didn't have to deal with people trying to celebrate something he really didn't care about.

When basketball practice was over, he picked up the girls and headed back to Steve’s.

He was surprised to see Steve’s SUV in the driveway, since he normally got back first.

Collecting the girls, he headed inside and almost dropped the carriers when Steve and Robin jumped out, yelling, “Surprise!”

“How did you find out?” he asked Steve. He was still not too excited about the idea of a party, but it actually felt good that someone cared.

Steve flushed pink and said sheepishly, “I might've looked at your school records. I might have a friend that got me that information.”

They spent the night laughing and talking. Steve promised they would have a real party when Billy weans the girls.

Steve got him a gift card at his favourite sports store and Robin made his birthday cake, which was really good.

When the clock struck nine, they decided they should get some sleep for school the next day. Robin ended up staying the night. That night Billy went to bed for the first time feeling the next year might just be better.

***

A week later, the day of the big game finally was upon them.

After an amazing season comprising only one loss, The Tigers showed their claws by starting fast. The team they were facing was just as good and by the last five minutes, the game was tied. The Tigers had the ball.

“Come on, you can do it!” Lucas yelled from the bleachers. He had developed an interest in basketball and came to all their games along with Robin, who came to support Steve.

Billy's eyes were locked onto Steve, who took the ball across the court, easily slipping past the other team’s guards until he reached one of their biggest players. Without missing a beat, he ducked and passed the ball to Billy, who was waiting at the hoop and scored the final points of the game.

“The Hawkins Tigers are the new Interstate champions,” the announcer said as the team began their celebration.

After the game and after dropping Lucas and Robin off, Steve and Billy picked up the girls from Joyce's house and headed home.

The hustle when they got home made them feel as though they were on the court again. The girls were full of energy and the bathroom was full of water after bath time, so while Billy got a mop and cleaned the bathroom floor, Steve put the girls down for bed.

Once the mop was put away and the girls were finally falling asleep, Steve and Billy went downstairs to the living room.

“Good game tonight, Steve,” Billy said, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder, his eyes never leaving his.

“Same to you,” Steve replied, holding Billy's gaze with his own.

As if being pulled by something, their bodies slowly got closer. Billy softly slid his hand down Steve's arm. He then moved his hand around Steve's waist and when Steve nodded at his wordless question, their lips met and they shared their first kiss.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy deserved better #fanfic #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #reblog please #steve harrington #ao3 fanfic #harringrove bigbang

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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First comment on my big bang story❤️❤️ thank you to @darleenjade for the beautiful comment!!

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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Cash strapped writer looking for a beta reader to help with terrible grammar skills for my original story I’m working on

#writer #need help #beta reader #grammar needs help #broke #reblog

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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First comment on my big bang story❤️❤️ thank you to @darleenjade for the beautiful comment!!

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy deserved better #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #fanfic #reblog please #steve harrington #ao3 fanfic

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strangerthingfanfic · 11 months ago

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Welcome to my story for the Harringrove Bigbang!!!

This wouldn’t have been possible without my amazing Beta reader @camaro-and-smokes and my artist @demogorgeously

Chapter 1 can be found here at Ao3 or down below

Chapter 1: Truths

Hawkins High School Gym: Friday March 2, 2023

“Stop him Steve!” someone yelled as the brown-haired captain of the Tigers basketball team took on the newest player, the Californian mystery boy, Billy Hargrove.

Steve tried his best to block him from the basket but it was for nothing as the sun-kissed heartthrob made the winning basket.

“Skins win boys. You all did good. The interstate championship is coming up next month, so get your rest and keep practicing. See you next week,” the coach said as he headed for his office.

Steve and Billy had spent the whole year trying to best each other on the courts. They wouldn't say the word friend, but their competitive spirit has made them respect one another.

Steve sat down on the bleachers and put his head in his hands as he tried to figure out why every time his hand brushed against Billy’s sweaty chest, his heart beat faster.

Down the way, Billy was also trying to figure his own feelings out.

Their cool-down didn’t last long as a beautiful girl with brown hair and blue eyes that were red around the edges walked into the gym.

“Steve, your mommy is here,” Tommy Hagan said, making everyone but the two boys on the court laugh.

Steve took a deep breath and followed Nancy out to a quiet space behind the gym while Billy watched, feeling the weirdest sensation - jealousy.

“What do you want, Nancy?” Steve asked in an annoyed tone.

“Seriously Harrington, you spend all night blowing up my fucking phone and you act like I'm the one putting you out. I'm sorry your fragile male ego was hurt because I chose to study for a test rather than invite you over to hear about your basketball issues. Well, King Steve, enjoy the single life because we are through,” Nancy said and stormed off, leaving a very stunned Steve behind and his varsity jacket on the ground.

“I've seen breakups in my life, but that one was killer,” Billy quipped, trying to keep a victorious smile from spreading across his face.

Steve turned around, making a show out of leaning down a bit to put his face into Billy’s and said, “What, you following me now, shithead?”

Billy actually looked hurt by the comment, but his phone dinged before he could reply. “Would love to continue this lovely chat, but I’ve got something I need to do,” he said, looking worried and tired all at once.

Steve sighed. Billy kept checking his phone and muttering to himself and his hands were visibly shaking. “Need some help?” Steve asked softly. “You really shouldn’t drive like that”.

Billy scoffed. He didn’t need help, especially from someone like King Steve, but then something inside didn’t want Steve to be away either. Giving into the understanding, Steve was right and he really shouldn’t be driving, reluctantly nodded and dug the keys out of his pocket. He tossed them at Steve and led the way to his blue Camaro.

As Steve got in the driver’s side, he was trying to figure out what could have Billy so tied in knots.

Billy got in and buckled his seat belt. “Let's head to the daycare center next to the small store Joyce works at,” he said, his eyes constantly darting back to the phone that kept dinging.

Steve was confused but didn’t want to push it, so he started up the car. Why was Billy going to a daycare and how did he know Joyce Byers? he wondered to himself.

The trip was quiet except for the sounds of typing and dinging as Billy frantically kept replying to incoming texts.

When they got to the daycare center, Billy hopped out and ran inside without a word.

Not wanting to intrude, Steve kept himself planted in the driver's seat.

As Joyce came out of the daycare, Steve waved at her. She headed over to Steve and asked, “Why are you in the driver's seat”?

Steve smiled and replied, “Billy was shaking so bad I didn't think it was wise for him to drive. He hasn't explained what's going on yet, though.”

“He will when he's calmed down and ready. You're a good guy Steve. Now I better get my ass back to work before I get fired,” Joyce said with a laugh. She was halfway towards the convenience store when she suddenly turned around. “Oh, by the way, could you pick up the boys from school? I know you already dropped them off in the morning, but it would really help all of us parents. Thanks!”

Groaning at the sudden change of plans and not being given an option to decline, Steve grabbed his phone and texted Robin. “Hey Robs, what are you up to?”

“Hey, I'm just doing some homework. I'm surprised you're done with basketball practice. I feel bad for sports people having to stay behind even on short days. Anyway, how are you?” Robin replied.

“Well, Nancy broke up with me and now I'm sitting outside the daycare center and Joyce just asked me to pick up the kids out of the blue. My head's spinning and I’m not sure how it’s staying on to be honest, especially since I’m waiting for Billy Hargrove to do whatever he’s doing at the daycare,” Steve replied, not quite sure if he himself believed the words he just typed.

A couple of confused smileys and then Robin finally replied, “The hot new kid?”

Steve sent a facepalm, which he received a laughing face.

Just as he was starting to text another message, the door to the daycare opened and out came Billy, holding a baby wrapped in a pink and yellow blanket.

Questions swirled in Steve’s head as Billy opened the passenger side door, pulled the seat up, and carefully placed the baby in the baby seat. Placing a kiss on the baby’s forehead, he made sure the baby was secure, returned his seat to its upright position, and sat down.

“Her name is Mary and I need to take her to the doctor. Let’s get you back to your car and then I will pick up Max and head on over to the hospital,” Billy said as his phone chimed again. “Thank god her doctor will see her this afternoon at 3:30.”

Starting the car up, Steve wanted to ask a million questions but kept quiet, not wanting to awaken Billy’s temper.

The quiet but tense car ride didn’t take that long, but to both the men in the vehicle, it felt like a lifetime.

When they got to the school parking lot, Steve pulled into a spot right next to his brand new 2023 BMW X5.

“Who knew you would drive a mom car Harrington,” Billy quipped as he unbuckled his seatbelt and covered Mary with a blanket.

Steve’s face flushed pink. “I take a group of kids to and from school so I got a car that fits us all comfortably,” he said, undoing his own seatbelt.

“Always have to be hero Harrington don’t you” Billy said mockingly.

“And you always have to be a jackass,” Steve said, opening the door and getting out, making a show of dropping the keys in the driver's seat.

He was tired and he still had to pick up five kids. But he also wanted to stay and make sure Billy and Mary got to the doctor safely. Why do I care so much about this hot-headed asshole who's done everything in his power to make my life hell? His temper alone drives me crazy, Steve’s inner voice repeated over and over.

But his outer voice said something different, “We could move the car seat into the SUV and could pick the kids up, drop them off, and still make it to the appointment.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I can’t take the chance of the others finding out. I will wait here for Max and then head to the hospital. Thanks for the help,” Billy said as he got back into the Camaro, this time in the driver's seat.

“I’ll come to the hospital after dropping the others off,” Steve said and got into the SUV and headed out.

Billy watched the SUV disappear into the distance. Part of him was confused why Steve would come to the hospital while part of him was glad.

When Max got there, they headed to the children’s hospital where Steve was already waiting for them. His SUV was nowhere in sight.

“Where's your mom car?” Billy quipped as he and Max got to Steve.

“I left it at the Byers. Jonathan gave me a ride here, but don't worry, I told him some lame excuse about volunteering,” Steve answered.

While Billy checked in with Mary, Steve found him and Max chairs close to the magazine rack to keep themselves busy.

Once Billy had checked in with Mary, they came back and sat down next to Steve and Max. He tried to keep himself composed while all he wanted to was to cry and tell Steve everything. It scared him. In all this time, he had never felt the need to be honest and open with anyone about what had happened, but around Steve he just wanted to be exactly that.

“Mr. Hargrove, the doctor will see you and Mary now,” the nurse said after a few minutes. Billy got up and was able to muster up enough self-restraint to follow the nurse to the examination room without saying a word to Steve, afraid they would be the wrong ones.

“It’s just a cold,” Billy said happily when he and Mary emerged from the doctor’s office.

After making a follow-up appointment and picking up Mary’s prescription at the hospital pharmacy, they were back in the Camaro, with Max complaining about the tight space, and headed towards Steve’s place.

The pile of questions Steve had kept growing by the minute, but he knew that making Billy angry would only make him clam up more.

The rest of the ride to Steve’s was so quiet that you could hear the wind passing through the cracks of the car's windows.

When they finally pulled into the driveway that led to Steve’s front door, both Max and Billy were amazed at the finery in front of them. “Damn Steve, you could host a block party on your damn driveway,” Billy just had to quip, making Steve roll his eyes.

When they got to the front door, Steve helped by getting Mary out while Billy helped Max. Steve then went, still carrying Mary, and opened the front door, inviting Billy and Max inside.

Once everyone was in, Steve looked down at Mary who was falling asleep in his arms and said, “I’m going to take her up to my old nursery and lay her down.”

Suddenly Billy’s carefree attitude changed, and he suddenly was in front of Steve, removing the baby from his arms. “I'll take her to lie down. Where is the nursery?”

“On the left-hand side as you get upstairs,” Steve said, taken aback.

Once Billy was beyond his view, Steve collapsed on the couch. He didn’t think the day could get any weirder until he looked over at the other sofa and had to do a double take.

Laying in a pile of clothes was a red-headed baby laughing and cooing.

“Billy, can you come down here” Steve called up the stairs as he picked up the now baby Max so she wouldn’t fall off the couch.

As he rounded the corner, Billy's face turned pale and his knees buckled, causing him to fall to the floor as he saw the bundle in Steve's hands.

“I’m so sorry Steve, you weren’t supposed to find out now. I’ve put you in danger,” Billy said, suddenly standing up. “I will get the girls and go. Maybe they won’t find out.”

Steve cradled Max as he went past Billy, headed upstairs, and soon came back down with a baby monitor instead of a baby. He headed to the fridge, grabbed some sparkling water and, sitting on the recliner across from the couch, said, “Time to talk, Hargrove.”

Sitting on the couch, Billy twisted open the lid to his sparkling water and took a long swig. “Hold on to your panties, this is a wild ass ride.” Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, knowing the sparkling water in his hand wasn’t enough to tell a story that Steve would not believe and would put him in danger. Opening his eyes, he was met with piercing brown eyes that said “you're not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on”. Taking another swig of his liquid courage, Billy cleared his throat and began at the beginning.

“It all started at the beginning of last year. I was sixteen and wanted my own car. My dad said that I would have to earn the money and keep my grades up and a bunch of other shit I really didn’t listen to, so I was scanning help wanted ads online. One came up that was offering a huge amount of money. All I had to do was be a human guinea pig. I immediately contacted them and on January fourth, after passing all their health checks perfectly, they put me under anaesthesia. A few hours later, I woke up hooked to a bunch of machines with doctors standing in a circle around me. Then I heard the most disturbing thing I had in my sixteen years: ‘the uterus and the embryos have been successfully implanted. In nine months he will have a child‘.”

Hands shaking, he took another swig of water and dared to look over at Steve. His eyes were wide, but the worst was that he had the one look Billy hated most painted on his face. Pity. Not able to bear the look anymore, he closed his eyes and continued describing the journey.

“When I recovered from surgery, they put me in this really nice room and allowed anything I wanted. I wanted to murder the doctors for not telling me what I was in for beforehand. I mean, when they put me under, all they said was I would feel like a new person. I didn’t think they meant I’d be having a fucking baby.”

Again, he had to stop and take a drink. Honestly, he was ready to bolt. Ready to run but his girls were upstairs and who knew what kind of security this place had, so he mustered up what bravery he had and continued on.

“But some nagging feeling told me it was safer just to let things go the way they were. I don’t think it truly became real until the ultrasound later. I mean, I had very little morning sickness, and I didn’t get tired like they warned me about. But that moment, when I saw both my girls for the first time, I was hit with a wave of emotions: fear, love, anger, and more fear. Then I learned I was having twin girls. Then came the lactogenesis.”

“Wait, wait, Billy, slow down. What the hell is lactogenesis?” Steve said, trying to keep up with the story.

“Basically, the start of me producing milk,” Billy said, his face turning a soft pink.

“Oh,” Steve said as he tried to cunningly look at Billy’s chest to see any signs of this.

“Eyes up here, buddy. Now, I’m going to continue if that’s fine with you.” Steve nodded, and Billy took a breath and continued.

“My head went into a tailspin of emotions that I don’t think ever ended. Honestly, the rest of the pregnancy was a blur of having blood drawn, psychological evaluations, physicals, and at some point a basic parenting class. So, fast-forwarding to Sept. 5, 2022, the girls were born via C-section. They both cried quickly, and I got to hold them and feed both of them for the first time. Which, I must say, was the most awkward but confusingly most satisfying thing I had ever done. But then alarms started going off and the head doctor, Doctor Martin Brenner, started yelling to get me and the girls out of the delivery room and to another facility in order to continue testing on the girls. But Doctor Sam Owens, who had been very kind to me, helped me into a wheelchair, gently placing the girls in my arms and wheeled us out a back door, grabbing a case of vials as he left. Owens got the driver's seat of my car that was parked outside up and managed to help me squeeze into the backseat to lie down to minimize the pain I was in. Laying the girls on my chest, he replaced the seat and drove us to a hotel about six hours outside of San Diego. Once inside, Owens told me that one of my daughters, Max, had a genetic defect that would be a devastating blow to humanity if replicated. He told me he had been able to create a medicine that will reverse the effects, but it only lasts twelve hours. I looked at the man like he was crazy. Max looked absolutely normal. Then It happened for the first time. Right at 5pm Max went from being a few hours old to being twelve years old right in front of my eyes. I mean, imagine one minute you're holding your newborn daughter and boom, then she’s fucking twelve, talking, walking and being a fucking pain. The fact she knew how to be a fucking pain pissed me off more. So, now not only did I have two kids but one with this weird power or whatever it was with no one to help me except Owens. And he only did what he did because I promised I would let him keep tabs on the girls. Owens chose Hawkins to continue keeping tabs on Max and her 'ability' because it was off the grid, and the people who worked for Brenner would never look for us there. According to Owens, Brenner wanted to take Max and replicate the anomaly inside her to reverse the aging process. So, the next morning we waited until 5am and loaded a cranky pre-teen and a screaming one day old into the Camaro and headed here.”

Billy swore as he stopped to take a drink and found his sparkling water empty. Steve got up and got a couple more bottles and placed them in front of him. He thanked Steve as he opened another bottle, and after taking a swig, he continued.

“My life has been a fucking groundhog day ever since. For some reason, Max just started calling me her brother, so we went with that. From 5am to 5pm I’m her brother and from 5pm to 5am I’m her fucking mother. Feeding, changing and trying to keep the three of us alive in this dank little room at the rec center that one of Owen's friends let’s me use. I sleep on a mattress and the two girls share a crib. There’s been three saving graces. One, my twins. Two, for compensation for my hardships, Owens transferred the Camaro into my name. I also get a weekly supply drop of diapers and things for older Max and a weekly allowance of $100 to shop for food and clothing. Three, Joyce. When I went to the market on the third day we were here, I left Max to watch Mary for a bit. Next thing I knew, I was having a full-fledged breakdown in one of the aisles when I saw the price for some lunch stuff for Max. I was at my breaking point and then there Joyce was, like an angel. She asked what was wrong, and I just blurted out everything to her. When I was done, I panicked. I thought she would call CPS or the police, thinking I was crazy, but all she did was hold me and tell me she would figure it out with me. The next day she had me meet her after dropping Max off and got me set up with the daycare so I could go to school. Then she had Sheriff Hopper bring over some old infant clothing and blankets. He also had a brand new crib made for twins and he helped me to set it up. They offered to make room at their place and Hopper offered me his cabin, but I didn’t want them involved, so I declined.”

Steve watched as Billy, who had always been sturdy as a rock on and off the court, buried his face into one of the couch pillows and cried. Steve could tell Billy was trying to hide the tears, so he said nothing. The questions in his head could wait for later.

Finally, slowly raising his head and clutching the pillow to his chest, Billy said, “I’m drowning, Steve. My girls deserve more than an old room. They deserve that amazing nursery you have. They deserve a stable home, not an old room with nothing in it. My parents think I’m dead and don't know they’re grandparents, though that might be the only decent thing about all this. My dad is stuck in the freaking 80s when people tried to have the perfect family. He was just a damn kid back then, but fuck that, right? He probably would’ve had a heart attack if I told him I got pregnant–and could again. But I seriously want to know If I was to disappear, would you take them in? Be their parent? That way, they’d have a chance at life and Max could get her cure.”

Billy stopped but didn’t reach for his sparkling water. He started to fidget where he sat. His breathing quickened like he was having a panic attack, but he quickly resumed breathing normally. “Owens told me today he found a cure, but it would cost me 10k. I wanted to punch him but I didn’t want to make a scene, so I gritted my teeth and left,” he said, and as he took a swig of his sparkling water, tears ran along his jawline.

After a small pause, Steve finally spoke. “This is right up my alley.” Looking at the clock, he grabbed his phone and wallet, Billy’s keys, and headed out the door.

The sound of the Camaro’s V8 revving in the last minutes of daylight sent shivers down Billy’s spine. The sound of gravel flying in under the squealing wheels made the whole thing even more menacing.

Billy chugged the last of his sparkling water, cursing that he couldn’t have anything stronger, and then laid down on the couch. Before he could even close his eyes, he heard crying over the baby monitor. So, he got up, ran up the stairs towards the nursery, pulling his shirt off. He picked up the two screaming babies from their crib and sat in the rocking chair, setting them up for feeding, which always seemed to take forever.

***

The Camaro was the most beautiful piece of engineering Steve had ever driven, and he had driven a lot of cars, including the newest models. Every turn was smooth, the stick shift melded with his hand, and the roar of the engine was music to his ears.

As much as he wanted to disappear into the void, he knew he had to make the dreaded call. “Siri, call mom,” he said. As he listened to each unanswered ring, his anxiety got worse and worse.

“Hello Steve,” came a woman's voice over the speaker.

Ignoring the annoyed tone in his mother’s voice, he said, “Hello mother. I need your help. A friend is being blackmailed and I want to help.”

First, silence. Then, “What does this have to do with me?” she huffed.

He wanted to scream at her, but said, “Dr. Martin Brenner.”

“I will text you when we are set up. What do you need?” she asked, finally interested.

“10k and a safety net from Dr. Sam Owens,” he answered.

“I'll get it done,” she said.

The phone clicked dead, pissing Steve off more.

Reaching over, he flipped on the radio and was surprised at classical music playing. He’d always heard that babies like classical music.

The drive to the clinic wasn’t that long, but it felt like ages. What he was about to do was crazy and could go south quickly.

Hopefully, his mother had come through.

When he arrived at the clinic, there were only a few cars left in the parking lot. He hoped that Owens' car was one of them.

He got out, taking a deep breath. Just as he was stepping inside, his cell phone dinged with a message.

“Everything is set up, just waiting for you to say if it's a go or not. Love, Caroline.”

His mother signed no messages as ‘mother’. It didn't bother him anymore, though. He was just glad she had his back when he really needed her.

As he headed straight back to the room he saw Billy go into, the receptionist said loudly, “Sir, you're not permitted back there without an appointment.” Without even looking at her, he flipped her off and kicked open the door.

“Doctor Sam Owens,” Steve said, making himself comfortable in one of the visitor's chairs. “We need to talk”.

Owens swore loudly as he turned to face the disruption that had just kicked his door open. “Who the fuck are you”? he asked.

“I'm here to pay the 10k for the cure for Max Hargrove. Then, either of two things will happen within 48 hours. Option one: Max will be cured and you will get your 10k. You can pack up your shit and leave Billy and Hawkins alone. Option two: Max doesn't get better, and the FBI takes your ass in, on paper at least, but I'm sure you're more familiar by their other name, the Shadow Group. That’s just a text away. So, let's go, doctor. If you refuse, I can send that text right now, too,” Steve said with a sneer.

Owens sat down in his chair and let out a small laugh. “Kiddo, why should I be afraid of you?” he asked, probably hoping to call the young man’s bluff. The fire that flared in Steve's eyes made Owens flinch, clearly rethinking his own safety. He grabbed a case from a safe under the sink and said, “I've got the cure. I know it will work, but I'm the least of your worries. Brenner won't stop looking for them.”

“We’ll deal with it if and when it happens, but for now, let's go,” Steve said as he let Owens lead the way out.

Steve's hands gripped the wheel tightly as they headed towards his place. Just the thought of the asshole next to him being around Billy and those girls again made him want to throw up.

“You know, kid, I'm not the bad guy here. I did everything I could for your friend and his kids. But I have to make sure my wife and son are safe as well and that money will help secure it,” Owens said, trying to plead his case.

Steve growled and snapped back, “I get it, but holding a child’s livelihood above her parents’ head is just disgusting.”

“That child wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me,” Owens said, boasting.

“Your true colors finally show. This is about ego, not your family. Let’s hope your cure works, doctor, because if it doesn’t, all you're going to see is a cell and three meals a day,” Steve said. Both of them spent the rest of the trip inside their own heads.

When Steve and Owens got back to Steve’s house, he grabbed Owens by the arm and dragged him inside. When Steve saw the empty living room, his mind went back to Billy's words ‘if I disappeared’ and started panicking.

Continuing to hold Owens by the arm, he dragged Owens up the stairs and to the nursery.

The sight in the room stopped Steve by the door. Billy was asleep in the rocking chair, his shirt off and both of his girls in his arms.

“Do you really want to continue to torture that family?” Steve whispered to Owens.

“Why does a rich kid like you care about a kid with nothing but two kids in tow?” Owens spat.

Steve grabbed Owens' arm again and dragged him into the nursery.

Billy woke up the minute Steve set foot in and threw a blanket over the girls as he held them tightly against his chest. “God! Harrington, you scared me!” he hissed, relaxing until he saw Owens. “What the fuck is he doing here?” he growled.

“He has the cure for Max,” Steve said as he pushed Owens forward. “Give it to her. Then you’ll stay here for two days, making sure nothing goes wrong,” he said, waving his phone in front of Owens. Steve looked over at Billy, who looked back in confusion and fear as he held both his girls against his chest. “Don't worry, he won't do anything stupid,” he said as he reached out his arms for Max.

Billy gently placed her into Steve's arms and held onto Mary.

Steve brought a still sleeping Max to Owens and held her arm out for him to give her the shot.

Taking a deep breath, Owens did as he was told to. It made Max wake up screaming in return, and even though he had seen the whole thing, Billy got up and got right in Owen’s face and said, “If anything is wrong with her, I will kill you.”

Steve quickly returned Max to Billy and gently assured him, “She’s alright. She’s going to be alright.”

“Alright doctor Owens, in two days, if the cure really works, you’ll get your payment and you can get the hell out of their lives,” Steve said, remaining by Billy’s side.

“I’ll pay you back. I promise,” Billy said, trying to keep his emotions in check. .

Steve smiled and said, “We can talk about that later. How about for now we go and have some drinks in the living room and relax?”

Surprisingly, Billy didn't fight and gently put both girls in the crib. Max looked at him with tears still dabbing the side of her tiny eyes.

“I will be just downstairs, my love,” Billy said. At that moment, Mary put her little arm around Max and they began to cuddle. Max seemed to forget about Billy and her shot at once.

Steve smiled at Billy and said, “Twins always have a caretaker, even at 6 months old.” Billy nodded, and they flanked Owens down the stairs ahead of them and pushed him onto one of the couches. Billy sat across from Owens, staring daggers at him while Steve went to the kitchen to get them drinks.

When Steve returned and handed Owen his drink, he spoke. “Better get comfortable and you better hope nothing goes wrong or you will end up meeting my mother and her colleagues within a shadow government you won’t be drinking with.”

“Damn, Harrington, I didn’t know you had this in you,” Billy said as Steve sat next to him. “I'm full of surprises, Hargrove,” Steve replied. It made Billy's lower half respond in kind, it made Steve even more elated himself.

Owens groaned, having to witness the teenage banter in front of him. Billy and Steve just laughed.

They all opened their drinks and quietly eyed each other as they drank.

***

At 4:30am, Billy’s alarm went off blaring Master of Puppets.

Groaning, Billy hit the off button and tried to sit up, but was being held by something around his waist. It was then he remembered they fell asleep on the couch and Steve must’ve put his arm around him. If it wasn’t for needing to get upstairs for Max, he would’ve let the guy sleep. No one had ever done anything to Billy like Steve had done last night. He was still afraid to let himself get close to anyone, but now he was more than willing to try. Gently sliding out from under Steve’s arm, he stood up and was already heading upstairs when he felt a hand grip his wrist.

“I’m coming too,” Steve said, yawning.

Billy couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, but I’m not carrying you up the stairs.” Somewhere in his mind, he knew he would do that if needed, and it made him feel warm inside. Billy stopped by Owens, who was sleeping on the other couch and pulled his legs off of it.“Time to get up, Doctor Frankenstein, we have to check on my daughter,” Billy sneered.

Owens didn’t dare argue or try to make a corny joke, he just followed.

Both girls started crying when they reached the stairs. Billy knew that meant breakfast time. He strode upstairs, two stairs at a time. When he reached the nursery, he lifted the girls out of the crib and sat on the rocking chair to feed them.

The girls found their favorite spots quickly, making him breathe in from the pain, realizing he had never put his shirt on from the last feeding.

“They are good eaters,” Steve said from the doorway of the nursery.

Billy laughed and agreed. “They are that. I tried doing it one at a time, but it didn’t work. They would eat if both of them weren’t there. When I had to start leaving Mary at daycare, I was so scared she wouldn’t eat from the bottle. Thankfully, she did, but only at daycare. Once Max was her normal self. Mary would only breastfeed next to Max.”

Steve smiled and watched for a few minutes, trying to turn off the feelings of peace and comfort as the house finally felt like a home, but he couldn’t.

Remembering they were on the clock, he pulled Owens into a spare bedroom, and sat him in an old chair as he got out a new blanket to lay Max on.

Steve had never been religious, but at that moment, he silently asked God to spare Billy and Max from any more pain and let the medicine have worked. And it was then, as if God was letting him know all would be alright, as Steve passed the window after sitting Owens down, a warm, bright light came through and engulfed Steve. His worry was gone and shortly thereafter, so was the light.

The look of amazement and confusion crossed Owen’s face as he looked at the window and then to Steve. It was again completely dark outside but yet that light had been there.

At ten to five, Billy came in holding Max. She was happily cooing and kept reaching for Billy's face.

Steve felt knots in his stomach. The look on Billy’s face said everything. If this didn’t work, it would probably be the final straw that would break Billy for good.

Laying Max on the blanket, Billy turned to Steve.

Steve placed a hand on Billy’s cheek and said gently, “It will work. All will be well”

Billy nodded, trying to stay positive.

They all anxiously waited for the chiming of Billy’s phone to tell them it was time.

Ding ding ding.

Poop.

The only thing that happened was Max stayed a baby and pooped her diaper, making both Steve and Billy break into laughter.

Billy picked her up, taking her back to the nursery to change her. Relieved, he left Steve and a very egotistical Owens behind.

“I knew it would work! I am a genius.” Owens shouted.

As if anyone cared.

Steve got right into Owen’s face. “No, shithead, you’re not. You're a lunatic who finds joy in hurting others because it boosts your own damn ego. Just so you know, your friend, Doctor Brenner, was picked up by the Shadow group this morning as he tried to flee the country. Someone had tipped him off that Billy was in France with the twins and working as a tour guide.”

Owens laughed and said, “Brenner isn’t a friend, more like a means to an end. I hope he enjoys federal prison.”

Ignoring Owens, Steve continued. “Now, I am a man of my word. A higher power has assured me that Max will be just fine from here on, so I’m going to let you leave. But you shouldn’t try to fly or do anything under your real name because the Shadow group will be on top of you at once. Brenner ratted you out as an accomplice the minute he was taken into custody. Not a very good friend in my books.”

Steve smiled, noticing Owen’s eyes widen at this news.

“Please kid, I have a family,” Owens pleaded.

Steve laughed and said, “I’m guessing the people you’ve hurt also had one, but don’t worry, they will be fine.”

Owens just sat in silence.

“Thank goodness I have a more reliable mom,” Steve continued. “See, all I had to do was give my mom both your names, and she did the rest. She isn’t here a lot, but she would kill for me. This time, though, she has the Shadow group searching every dark corner of the country for you. So, here are the keys to the old station wagon that they left for you in the driveway and you're to leave Hawkins and never come back. If after some time you seem to keep your word, I will have my mom and her group call off the search. Good luck out there, Doctor Owens.”

Steve watched as Owens grabbed the keys and headed outside. Following Owens to the door, he watched as Owens found the station wagon, got into the driver's seat, and sped off toward the town exit.

Flipping off after the disappearing car, Steve took out his phone and typed a message out to Robin. “Lots to tell you, Rob. Will be busy the rest of the weekend but on Monday for sure. Take care.”

“You better spill it all then on Monday Steve,” Robin wrote back.

“I thought we got to entertain him until tomorrow,” Billy commented as he entered the living room, sadly with his shirt on this time.

“Well, the Shadow group is probably waiting for him outside of town. Sometimes it’s nice having parents with contacts. My mom works within the group, so she was able to make Brenner and now probably Owens, too, disappear - quickly. Now you can focus on important things, like how you're going to help me after school on Monday. The kids are going to be wondering where Max is and I think you should be the one to explain,” Steve said with a grin, putting his phone away.

“Now, I’m going to go make us something to eat since the girls have had theirs,” Steve said and left the room, heading into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Billy didn’t know how to react to that, so he just followed Steve into the kitchen. He would have to explain to the daycare why he now had two six-month-olds instead of just one. And he also would have to call Joyce and let her know what was going on. But that could wait.

Taking the eggs Steve handed him and as soon as the pan was at the right temperature cracked them open perfectly for a sunny side up. “Life should be more interesting now, huh?”

Steve laughed and looked over at Billy. “I can't imagine it won't.” Inside, though, he wondered what secrets Billy might withhold and if maybe they could be more than friends.

Unbeknownst to Steve, Billy was wondering the same thing.

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