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dragonflylady77 · 8 days

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not on the menu

Rating: T | 1558 words | not KW friendly

B2 - free space for @harringrovesummerbingo

Gift for @shieldofiron and @spaceofentropy ❤️

** warning ** this fic ends with a cliffhanger but happy ending in the next one. it's a Guin guarantee.

Read on Ao3

Summary:

Billy has a run in with Karen Wheeler when he drops off Roscoe at Rosie's grandparents' for the weekend and he is not okay. Of course, Steve can immediately tell something is wrong.

“Do you really think I’ll be allowed to swim, Uncle Billy?”

“I asked Steve, my love, and he said you should definitely bring your swimsuit.”

“But what if Rosie’s grandma Karen says the pool is too cold?”

Billy tried to not let his frustration seep into his voice when he answered Roscoe’s questions for the seventh time. He knew it was because she was nervous. Rosie’s grandparents on her mom’s side were having a flashy end-of-summer BBQ party and Rosie had invited Roscoe for the weekend.

From what Steve had told him, Rosie’s mom and her new partner were going to be there, and Rosie was a bit apprehensive. She hadn’t seen her mom in a while so she’d asked her best friend to come along. Max had been called into work so it had fallen on Billy to deliver the anxious little girl to a gated community in La Jolla.

Billy listened to the directions the guard at the gate gave him, congratulating himself on deciding to drive his new Camaro that day instead of his 1979 classic Z28. The houses they drove past all looked like they cost a couple of times what Billy made as a yearly salary and he earned a respectable living.

Roscoe held his hand from the car to the Wheelers’ front door and Billy picked her up in his arms to give her a pep talk before he rang the bell.

“Now, listen, Peanut. You’re going to be just fine. It’s Rosie. She’s your bestest friend and she will make sure you have a good time. You’ve met her mom, haven’t you?”

Roscoe nodded.

“Right, so if anything, and I mean, anything, happens that makes you uncomfortable, you find Rosie’s mom and she’ll ring Steve. Okay?”

“Okay, Uncle Billy.”

“Good girl. Now, ring the bell. I’m sure Rosie can’t wait to see you.”

The doorbell chimes were soon replaced by a screech and the sound of footsteps rushing to the door, which was yanked open a second later.

“Roscoe! You’re here!” Rosie beamed, slightly out of breath. She was wearing a white dress with grass stains at knee level and no shoes.

“Rosalinda Elizabeth Harrington! What have I told you about opening the front door?” a female voice said behind her, coming closer.

“Sorry, Grandma Karen,” Rosie said, not sounding sorry at all.

Billy bit down on a chuckle and put Roscoe down. “Hi, Rosie.”

“Hi, Uncle Billy.”

He turned to his niece. “You’ve got your bag, Peanut?”

“Yes, Uncle Billy.”

“Great. You girls have fun, okay?”

The girls both agreed before saying a quick goodbye and running into the house, hand in hand. Billy’s gaze followed them until they turned a corner then landed on the woman who was waiting in the doorway. She was wearing a figure-hugging gauzy dark red dress, with a low décolletage and capped sleeves, and matching stilettos.

“Hello, I’m Karen Wheeler. Who might you be?” the woman asked—like she hadn’t heard Roscoe and her own granddaughter call him Uncle Billy a minute ago—giving Billy a slow appraising look that made him glad he’d renounced the habit of wearing his shirts mostly unbuttoned once he’d reached his thirties.

She offered her hand and Billy shook it, resisting the urge to wipe his hand on his jeans afterwards. The way she stared at him, raw hunger in her eyes, was making him uneasy.

“William Hargrove, ma’am, Roscoe’s uncle.”

“Call me Karen,” she countered with a giggle that creeped Billy out. “Won’t you come in for a drink, William? Or, better yet, join us for dinner. There’s more than enough food.”

“Sorry, Karen, but I already have plans tonight.”

“Got a hot date, have you?” Karen said with a wink, leaning on the doorframe.

“Something like that,” he replied with a tight grin. No way he was telling her he was planning on spending the entire weekend naked in bed with her former son-in-law.

“Another time, then?”

“Absolutely,” Billy said, lying through his teeth, and not finding it in himself to feel sorry about it. “I better head off. Have a lovely evening.”

Her goodbye followed him down the path to the sidewalk and he got into his car and headed off without looking back. He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling the encounter had left him but was still feeling the after-effects by the time he made it to Steve’s house.

Steve was waiting in the open doorway as soon as Billy got out of his car, and fuck, he was a sight for sore eyes, in his soft yellow jumper and his grey track pants that did a piss poor job to hide his giant dick.

“Hey, stranger, what took you so long?” Steve said, dragging a willing Billy through the threshold with both hands.

Billy kicked the door shut with his foot, before walking Steve backwards to the closest wall and burying his face in Steve’s neck. He inhaled the scent that was vanilla shampoo and something inherently Steve. It calmed his mind, even as his hands came up to grasp Steve’s sides.

How the fuck was he supposed to give this up when Steve decided he was ready to find someone he was serious about?

“Billy, are you okay?” Steve asked, an uncertain note in his tone when Billy didn’t move.

“I don’t know,” Billy mumbled against Steve’s neck, not letting go of Steve’s jumper.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

With a sigh, Billy leaned back, his fingers loosening their grip. “I dropped Roscoe at your former in-laws and your kid’s grandma tried to get me to stay for a drink, but the way she nearly licked her lips when she looked at me…” Billy couldn’t help the shudder that racked his body. He closed his eyes. “Felt like she was wishing I was on the menu.”

“What the fuck?” Steve wrapped his arms around Billy and pulled him close again. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

Billy bit down a whimper at the pet name Steve had never used before then shrugged. “It’s okay. I just wanna forget about her and enjoy our time together while I can.”

“While you—Billy, what the fuck do you mean?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Fuck.

Great job, dickhead.

Keeping one arm around Bill’s shoulders, Steve led the both of them to the couch.

“Come here, sit with me.”

Billy let himself drop on the couch, leaning his head back and looking at the ceiling. He was aware of Steve settling next to him, his hand warm on Billy’s thigh. When Steve didn’t say anything, Billy turned his head to look at him, confused when he noticed that Steve was dialing someone’s number on his phone.

The tone was loud in the otherwise quiet room, and Billy wondered who Steve was ringing and why he felt the need to do it on speakerphone.

“Hello, Wheeler residence, this is Karen,” the person on the other side answered and Billy went rigid.

Steve sent him a smile and squeezed his thigh. “Hi, Karen. It’s Steve.”

“Oh, Steve, hi! I really wish you could have joined us tonight. It’s so lovely to see Rosalinda with Nancy.”

“I’m sure it is. Listen, I heard you met Roscoe’s uncle tonight when he dropped her off and—”

“Yes, William, what a charming man. I really wish he’d have stayed for a while. I would love to get to know him. Is he single? I wonder if Nancy knows…”

“Karen, I’m going to stop you right there and remind you that you are a married woman.”

“Oh, Steve, you’re sweet." She laughed, and the sound had Billy tighten his hands into fists, nails digging in his palms. Karen continued, "Ted and I… let’s just say we have an arrangement that keeps both of us happy.”

“Okay, first of all, ew, and second of all, I think it’s quite creepy that you’re setting your sights on men the same age as your eldest daughter.”

Karen laughed. “Age is just a number, Steve. And as long as the participants are willing…”

“Billy is not willing,” Steve said, a steely age in his voice. “And, while I know and respect your place in my daughter’s life, I would appreciate if you’d keep your aging paws off my boyfriend.”

Steve hung up without another word, shutting out the offended stuttering and plunging the room in silence again.

“Boyfriend?” Billy whispered, when the quiet got too much. He felt unable to move a muscle, yet, at the same time, desperate to touch Steve, hope springing free in his chest.

“I, um, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that for a bit now, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long. When you said you wanted to enjoy our time together while you could, I realized I’d fucked up.”

“Steve…” Billy sat up, but Steve stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Billy, I know we’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of months, but I like you. A lot. And I mean that as in formally-introducing-you-to-Rosie-as-my-boyfriend-and-giving-you-a-spare-key-to-my-house-so-you-can-visit-whenever-you-like kinda like you.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Billy said, trying to wrap his head around the bombshell Steve had just dropped. After his slip up earlier, he’d expected Steve to tell him their arrangement was over, or that Billy was expecting too much. But now…

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #hsb2024 #harringrove summer bingo #harringrove summer bingo 2024 #dragonflylady77 #it started with a kiss #not karen wheeler friendly

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dragonflylady77 · 13 days

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i'm in your corner

Rating: G | 1068 words | Billy and Max are good siblings

B1 - professional basketball for @harringrovesummerbingo

read on Ao3

Summary:

Max corners Billy at Lucas's basketball game and makes him talk about his feelings.

“You’re late.”

Billy huffed and grabbed the lanyard with the VIP pass that Max was holding out to him before following her through the double doors. “Not everyone is lucky to work from home and live within ten minutes of the stadium where their husband plays basketball, Maxine.”

“Excuses, excuses, William,” Max replied, not even looking back at him. “Pretty sure you were making out with your boyfriend and that’s why you had to rush.”

“First of all, I don’t have a boyfriend, and in case you forgot, I live, and work, on the other side of town.” They got to their seats in the VIP section and something occurred to Billy. He looked around, in case Roscoe was hiding or sitting with her grandparents, but they didn’t seem to be there either. “What did you do with my niece?”

“She’s with Lucas’s parents, they were going to see Erica up in L.A. and Roscoe wanted to see her auntie.” Max put down her handbag before going over to the nearest stand to get a drink. She nodded towards the selection to Billy who pointed at the water.

“And you’re okay with her missing school?” Billy said, taking his bottle from Max with a thank you nod, and sat down.

“She’s six years old, Billy, I hardly think it matters if she misses two days of school on either side of a weekend. She is very excited to go to Disneyland.” Max sat next to him and took a sip of her water. “They took Rosie with them as well, as you probably know.”

“I think Steve mentioned something about it,” he said, fully aware he couldn’t lie to his sister. She’d always been able to tell, ever since they’d met when his dad married her mom, when Billy was fifteen and Max eleven.

“I bet he did,” Max said with a satisfied smirk.

“Oh my god, stop it! You keep trying to make this thing between me and Steve into more than it is. We just… enjoy spending time together.”

“Billy—”

Whatever Max was going to say was interrupted by the MC stepping onto the court and welcoming everyone to the charity game, reminding all the guests the aim of the evening was to raise funds for a queer youth shelter.

The teams ran onto the court a moment later, to a standing ovation. Max and Billy joined the rest of the crowd, cheering and whistling, sitting back as the game started.

Billy knew better than to try and talk to Max while the game was on. His sister’s attention was fully on her husband and his team during each quarter, affording Billy time to really think about what he was going to tell Max when she circled back to the topic of how much time he was spending with Steve.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket but didn’t dare take it out, lest he incurred the wrath of Max. He’d agreed to go over to Steve’s after the game; he’d even packed a bag for the weekend since Steve was unexpectedly child free. Now Billy knew why.

Max joking about him and Steve getting married that day at the beach had freaked him out and he hadn’t seen Steve while his daughter was around since. Clearly, they hadn’t been careful enough and he felt bad about that. They’d agreed at the start that this thing between them would remain casual. As a single dad, Steve didn’t want to risk his daughter getting attached to the people he was seeing, not unless he was serious about them.

While Rosie had met Billy a few times, she knew him as Roscoe’s Uncle Billy, not as her dad’s… whatever. Ugh. Billy really hated that they hadn’t put a label on this… situationship, or whatever Max had called it. He still wasn’t quite sure what that word meant, exactly, but he was not about to ask her to explain it again.

The halftime buzzer sounded and Lucas came over to say hi to his wife and Billy. Once he’d gone back to his team, Max put one hand on Billy’s arm and he turned to look at her.

“Talk to me, Billy.”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” Billy said with a shrug. She didn’t need him to say anything for her to take an idea and run with it, that was obvious enough.

“Come on, you’re my big brother, I know you. You don’t do casual. You have hook-ups, or you’re in a committed relationship. This situationship thing, it’s not you.”

Billy sighed. “Max, I really like him, okay?” He rolled his eyes when he took in Max’s shit eating grin. “Yeah, yeah, are you happy now?”

“I mean…”

“It doesn’t matter. He told me at the start that he doesn’t date, because of Rosie.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s very peculiar about who he brings home to meet his kid.”

“But Rosie’s met you, a bunch of times, so what’s the problem?”

“Max… she knows me as Roscoe’s uncle, not her dad’s boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah, I see. So when do you see each other then?”

Billy shrugged. “The nights she’s at her grandparents’ house, or sometimes he’ll get a babysitter. Or when she’s at your house. The occasional lunch date.”

“And you’re happy with that?”

“I don’t have a choice, Max.”

“Billy…”

“No. Don’t. I’ll just… take what I can get, okay? And then, once he’s had enough of sneaking around, or when he meets the girl he wants to take home to meet his child, I’ll just… learn to live with that, I guess.”

“And what? Move back to Seattle? You only just came home!”

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ll discreetly avoid him, or something. Can’t be that hard, I mean, I hadn’t met him before Roscoe’s party.”

“You deserve to be happy, you know that, right? You deserve love, no matter what Neil said.”

“I know. I promise. But that thing with Steve… it is what it is, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I would appreciate if you stayed out of it.”

“Fine. But I’ll keep working on my best woman speech anyway.”

“Oh my god! Shut up!”

“You first.” Max’s cackle was drowned by the third period buzzer.

Despite all her pushiness, Billy was happy he had his sister in his corner.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #hsb2024 #harringrove summer bingo #harringrove summer bingo 2024 #it started with a kiss #dragonflylady77

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